Friends for Life

When I walked Deanna to school on Monday, several of her friends needed to talk about Theresa's sudden death. I was thankful they feel comfortable enough with me to have these conversations. On the walk back home, I was pondering this. Deanna's known some of these girls since birth. Two years prior to Kindergarten, she started getting together with several of them once a week to play. If you include these years, she's had continuous contact with a few of these girls for 6 years now. Pretty amazing, considering she just turned 9.

One of her friends, Faith, was born while I was pregnant with Deanna and suffering from pancreatitis. I was in the hospital for 6 months during my pregnancy, on and off, but mostly on. During my second trimester, as I've mentioned before, they removed my gall bladder and I began post-surgical recovery while pregnant.

Anyway, Faith's parents are close friends of mine. Her father and I grew up together and were really best friends. Her mother and I became very close as singles and spent lots of time together. I even went with her once to her grandfather's 90th birthday party (I think it was 90!) We spent the weekend with her family and I thoroughly enjoyed both her company and her family's. I had a very serious conversation with Bob once encouraging him to pursue Lisa, which ultimately ended in a first date, was a bridesmaid in their wedding, and rented my apartment to them as newlyweds.

So, when Lisa went into labor with Faith, they stopped by my hospital room on their way to Labor and Delivery to tell me they were there. We visited for a few minutes, then they left to launch into the process. Later, they visited me again while Lisa was attempting to push labor forward and thought walking may help. A few hours later, I called down to L&D for information and was told that Lisa was pushing and we should have a baby soon.

Bobby came and gave me the good news of a daughter some time later. And, even later, as I was preparing for bed, Bobby appeared at my door, pushing the basinette of his newborn. I had turned off the lights, lowered the head of my bed, and was beginning to doze when I heard the knock on the door.

"Patti, I need help," Bobby said. "Lisa had a rough delivery and is absolutely exhausted. The baby is screaming and Lisa has got to get some sleep. I wondered if you would hold Faith and try and get her to sleep. I needed to get out of Lisa's room with her."

Would I hold that newborn? Big joke. I practically snatched her out of the basinette, held her against my own bulging tummy, and began humming to her. Bobby announced that he had not yet called all the family members, so I passed the phone to him from the other side of my bed. He plopped on the couch, phone in his lap, and began trying to reach family members to give them the good news. I tried my best to rock Faith, being careful to not move TOO much since I had an incision that went clear across my body and was still in a fair amount of pain from my surgery. I finally realized that she needed a pacifier. I tried to reach the one in the basinette, but couldn't quite get there without stretching, which was a no-no for me. I asked Bobby if he would come around to the other side of the bed and get it for me. He responded affirmatively, got up, and started around my bed.

Just then, the movie I still had playing on the TV hanging on the wall across from me took an interesting turn. Bobby stopped underneath it and we both were still for a couple of minutes watching the movie. Just then, my bedroom door flew open and in walked a nurse to take my vital signs. She was a fill-in that didn't know me and she stopped dead in her tracks. She looked at Bobby, the baby, me, and the TV, then back at Bobby and me. She stood there for several seconds, obviously attempting to process this information. Finally, as if Bobby were standing across the room instead of right next to her, she whispered my direction, "Do you know this man?"

I was so shocked by the question, I didn't respond. Bobby took full advantage of the quiet moment and jumped in. "Heck, no, I don't know her. My wife just gave birth and needed to rest and the baby was fussy. I figured I needed a woman and any woman would do, so I just pushed the basinette down the hall until I saw an open door."

The nurse almost bruised her chin on the floor, her mouth dropped open so far. I snickered and said, "Bobby, behave!" Then I continued with, "Of course, I know him. He's one of my best friends. He brought the baby for a visit so his wife could get some rest."

The nurse turned without responding and quickly pushed the vital signs cart back out the door, closing it behind her. She never returned to take my vitals that night.

Bobby retrieved the pacifier and continued his calls. I successfully got Faith to sleep and held her tight against me, thankful to have a baby in my arms after all I'd gone through, even if it wasn't mine. My claim to fame in this little girl's life is that I put her to sleep the night she was born.

I've always believed that she and Deanna have a special bond. Deanna had to have heard Faith's wailing from inside the womb. And Faith has always seemed to have a special love for Deanna. We always remind them that they met and became friends before Deanna was even born.

How's that for a life-long friendship?