The flood.

I had an unexpected conversation with Brooklyn the other night. It was just the two of us and we were on our way to her last soccer practice (thank goodness!). I don't remember exactly what we were talking about to get on the subject, but she asked me if she was sad when she found out that Olivia had gone to Heaven. I told her that when we originally said that Olivia wasn't going to be with us for very much longer, she was very sad, but the day she died, I think she was kind of expecting it, in a way. They had just been in to see her and to say goodbye and I'm sure she had picked up on the emotional cloud that loomed in the room that day.
She then proceeded to ask a lot of questions about how we found out that Olivia had died. I explained that I was holding her and her heart just stopped. "But, how did you know her heart stopped?" We talked about the monitors and how they showed that kind of stuff and that the doctor came in and told us she was gone. Anyway, an enormous flood of memories came back to me from that exact moment. It's one of those bittersweet moments that I'll never, ever forget. It's one of those moments that you read about happening to other people. I remember, so clearly, telling Olivia that if she was tired, it was okay to go. Within minutes, that was it.
So, why am I telling you all of this?
There are some families up in our PICU that are going through the same thing right now. Please pray for them. The nurses and the doctors are growing weary and need some extra prayers, too. These people are amazing. They invest their whole being into these kids and their families. It's been an extremely tough year up there, but it's so important for these docs and nurses to remember that, regardless of the outcome, they can only do so much. I remember when the doctors told us that anything they were doing medically, was being done 'to' Olivia, and no longer 'for' Olivia. This is when we knew it was time to let the Great Physician take over and He decided to give Olivia complete healing. Yes, we lost, but she won. Who could want anything more for their child? She is an amazing success story. So, an extra prayer for guidance, strength, comfort, and peace for our friends, and for all people struggling right now couldn't hurt, right?