‘I know you. I’ve walked in your shoes. I’ve cried those same tears and worn that same bracelet.’: NICU mama writes open letter to others, ‘Take my hand and let’s walk together’

“I know you.

We probably have never actually met, but I know you.

I know you because I’ve walked in your shoes. I’ve cried those same tears and have seen those same halls.

I’ve worn that same bracelet.

I’ve slept in the same hospital recliner, and clung to the same hospital blanket for comfort at my child’s bedside.

I’ve prayed the same prayers, and been in the same tiny hospital chapel, begging God for answers.

I’ve sat in the same small waiting room, and heard the same awful diagnostic news about my tiny baby struggling in her isolette.

I have experienced the same overwhelming guilt that I’m not doing enough to save my child. I’ve lived in that same survival mode, just trying to make it through each day alive.

I’ve been where you are.

But I want you to know you don’t have to excuse yourself to the pumping room to cry alone, you don’t have to feel like the walls are closing in around you, you don’t have to feel isolated from the world.

Being a NICU mama is hard; you are chosen, you are worthy, and you are so LOVED. I promise it gets easier mama, take my hand and let’s walk together.

Picture of Blakley’s foot prints right after she was born at just 2.7 ounces.”

This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Emily Campbell of Elizabethtown, KY. You can follow her journey on Facebook and Instagram. Submit your own story here, and be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.

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