RIH Trauma Intensive Care Unit(TICU)

When I originally thought about writing of our experience on TICU (trauma intensive care unit) I thought it might be 'TICU in the rearview mirror'. But the emotions of our experience there are to recent and run to deep - they are not behind us but will remain a part of us for a long time.

Imagine for a moment a world where time stands still. A world of constant beeping, alarms, drips, machines humming, voices in the hallway, lights on, lights off, lights on again, more beeping, endless alarms. Those are the aethestics of TICU. A world of intensity where lives are saved and lost nearly every day, often more than once a day.I

remember the first 'night' - it was early morning when we were brought up to the TICU. Lisa was the nurse on duty but many other nurses and doctors were still busy rushing in and out to attend to Courtney's very serious status. As I think back to Lisa asking us questions about Courtney it's odd that I can recall only one emotion during the first hour in TICU - I felt calm.

Perhaps it is the peace in the midst of the storm so often sung about in gospel hymns.

The peace on that day was certainly God's gift but the instrument he used to deliver that gift was the staff on TICU. So often I told them individually "you are giving people a gift."

There were conversations Craig and I had with doctors that cut us in half, I remember being practically carried to a chair more than once, and yet somewhere in the corner of my mind was the thought "how do they have these conversations?" How to you ask a parent about organ donation? How do you ask the unthinkable question of ending life support? The only answer is that they have been gifted by God with an amount of compassion that is beyound reach for for the rest of us.

The doctors who have chosen trauma as their specialty are certainly a breed of their own. The nursing staff dedicated to caring for critically ill patients, with multiple injuries, whose grasp on life is so tentative, have their own amazing capacity to provide compassion , caring and love.

All the staff who work the TICU, xray technicians, housekeeping, see, feel the pain and anguish of patients and families in crisis. They are all a blessing to all of us. These are your neighbors, friends, relatives and the people you pass on the street or in the store without a second glance. Every morning for the entire time that Courtney was in TICU at least 3-5 of the housekeeping staff would stand at the end of her bed and say silent prayers for her. They did this not because they knew Courtney or our family but because they also have a gift of love that runs deep through their hearts.

Not only did they care for Courtney as though she were their own sister, daughter, granddaughter, they cared for us too. We can't count the number of times doctors and nurses alike stopped to ask 'are you okay?', 'do you need anything?', 'is there anything I can do for you?

We found their compassion and willingness to extend that love to us nothing short of amazing.

From the bottom of our hearts we will never forget or be able to thank enough all those who brought Courtney from the brink of death to be medically stable enough to continue her recovery. It was these dedicated professionals, along with close friends and family, who have been by our side during the beginning of this awful journey. A journey where we have been shown Gods presence in this world.

May God bless them all with the strength to continue loving, with compassion for others that only saints have known, and the peace of knowing there are many many grateful hearts who will always and forever pray in thanksgiving for their being.

Diane, Craig, Katy, Claudia and Courtney