The Most Beautiful Smile

Most of you know probably know my little Randi. For my fellow NICU nurses, you will really enjoy this post. But for those who do not know about Randi Vanderhoof, let me try to make this brief....7 years ago, I took care of one of the sickest patients I have ever had. She "coded", and I mean real code, 4 times throughout several months, not to mention the hourly drops in oxygen and heartrate that would get even the most experienced staff nervous. There were a few times when the doctors had to call the parents in the middle of the night b/c they weren't sure she would make it. She was a twin born around 32 weeks, and she was half his size. Around 10 days of life, Randi got pneumonia and that was the beginning of a very very long road. She was so sick and needed a ventilator for so long that she developed terrible lung disease and needed a trach until she was around 18 months. When she did finally go home, she was still on the ventilator off and on, which meant mom and dad had to change their living room into a hospital room. Insurance did not cover 24 hour nursing care, so they had to take turns staying with her since they were the only ones trained. They are from Red Oak, IA, so they did not have the luxury of being a few mintues from the hospital, they did not have a wide range of qualified nursing staff, and they had to travel over an hour each way for doctor's appointments. While Randi was in the NICU and Ambassador (a long-term care facility) for over a year, they would travel EVERY DAY to see her. I have had the privelage of witnessing a few miracles in my life and she is near the top of the list. I believe in the power of love and the power of prayer. I believe Randi Jo Vanderhoof is alive today because of the love and strength of her parents. She had a purpose and she fought like I've never seen any baby fight. Yes, there are patients that have had the same wonderful parents and still don't make it, but God Blessed Randi with parents that gave her the will to live. And God has blessed this earth with a truly amazing, beautiful little girl.