I've met so many wonderful people along this journey. From doctors and nurses, other parents in the NICU, moms of angels and moms of preemies, strangers who have reached out to send love and support, and so many more. It's truly incredible how much good there is in the world. How many good people are out there. How many people truly care.
We received so much help when our journey began 1/10/2016. We received help with our kids at home, offers from complete strangers to watch them, offers to bring Kiera into their daycare for free so we would have more time at the NICU. Offers to drive Tey to basketball or any other event he had. We received meals every night. We would come home after the NICU and dinner would be waiting for us on our front porch. We received money towards our medicals costs - which completely covered them. Otherwise, we would still be paying them and continuing to add on more. We received cards in the mail. My friend Melanie literally sent me a card every single week. And every week it gave me something to smile about. We received cards and letters from strangers telling us they heard about our journey and that they were praying for us.
Friends who are now family to us who gave us a weekly schedule to come pick Kiera up and keep her for the day (Kelly Grace) so again I could go to the NICU for the day. And when I came to pick Kiera up she was so happy, she was fed, she had been outside. I was exhausted and I know Kelly was exhausted but never did she complain and never once did she not ask me how Jace and Eliana were doing. How I was doing. And she saw me cry a lot.
My sister, Lisa, who took Kiera to her house in NC for 2 weeks so we could get to the NICU and to take away some of our guilt for leaving Kiera home everyday. Lisa flying up here numerous times to take care of us, to see the twins, to be here for us, many times on a minutes notice. When I had the twins unexpectedly she flew up to take care of Tey and Kiera. When Jace passed away, she had literally just left from spending the weekend with me and the twins, she immediately got back on the plane and was by my side. Then her, Chris and the girls all flew up for Jace's memorial just a week later. And again, when I had Judah unexpectedly, she flew up the next day to take care of Tey, Kiera and Eliana. Lisa has ALWAYS been there for me. Lisa and family have. I don't know where I would be, or who I would be today, without them.
I can't even cover all of the people who did SO much for us. Darlene, who I consider my mom, would drive here, living over an hour away, to watch Kiera while I went to the NICU. Her daughter (who I consider my sister), Kristie, who had, had twin boys pretty recently before I had my twins, and 2 other boys in school, would drive here to watch Kiera also, so I could go to the NICU. Breezy who started the go fund me and kept everyone updated through that. Kevin, Jayne, Bill, Jack, Janet, Jenny. Brian's work did so much for us. When I went back to work my friend Carey had set up a digital frame that had pictures of all of my kids - it meant the world to me. There were welcome back to work gifts from Melanie and Geri. Again, I can't even begin to name everyone, but, it opened my eyes to, really, a whole new world. A world where when tragedy or devastation strikes, your village comes out, and they are there, in any way that you need them.
So, today, I can say not only did having the twins early change me, having Eliana put up the fight for her life, Jace fighting for his life and then passing away, all of this changed me. But also, feeling the love, sharing the heartache, having people truly there for us, changed me. I will always be living in a world where there was Moira before the twins, before losing Jace and the Moira now. My life now is after the twins, after losing Jace.
I want to give back to others like they did for me and my family. I want to be there for those in need. I want to help. I hope that my blog is helping other people, who have experienced something similar - the NICU, premature birth, the loss of a baby.
And after all of this I have finally realized what I DO want to be in life, when it comes to my career. It's something that can't happen overnight, I have to go back to school, and to do that I have to make time. But I will make it happen one day. I want to be a nurse. A NICU nurse.
