A Pain Unbearable
I work in a medical facility. In the postpartum room, a dad and his newborn baby were co-sleeping in a comfortable chair. I was told dad had stumbled to the nurses station with his dead child in his arms. We coded for about an hour before we could get ROSC and ship out by helicopter. But the baby was already dead. What is the most heartbreaking part of this story?
The baby was mispositioned, and its face was pressed against the father. The organs were donated a few weeks later. I’ve seen worse things happen to infants, but that will forever be etched in my mind because of the dad. I don’t think he can ever recover from the damage he suffered. He was utterly, irrevocably, indescribably and permanently destroyed.
I hope that dad is doing well. I hope the postpartum nurses is doing well. Sleep safely.
