Coping

One of the reasons I put the whole hospital story together is I knew if I posted in parts, I'd keep remembering new things.  I've already thought of one.

This was uncharted territory for me and Mike.  Ethan had a hospital stay for jaundice, and it was scary, but this was above and beyond that.  This was several days of serious health threats.  While we definitely did not have to go through the grief that parents who lose a child do, there were enough parallels that I found myself thinking of our friends who lost their son a lot.  We grieved for them while we were there, and also got scared anytime our situation reminded us of theirs.  I also thought of conversations I have had with my friend about how everybody grieves differently.  I was glad to have that perspective as we started our stay in the hospital.  I understood that Mike and I would handle things differently.  We worked well together in supporting each other's methods of coping.  I never wanted to leave Benton, so Mike made it happen, but consistently offered to take over for me.  He was shoulder to cry on, a listening ear, and errand runner,etc.  Although it had its challenges, Mike liked going back and forth to work and sleeping at home, so he did.  He made it very clear that he would come back if I wanted him to for any reason at any time. He was there for the surgeries and big moments, but not all the time. I couldn't have asked for a better partner in making sure I was able to handle things the best way for me, and hopefully he feels he was given the same opportunity.