Caring for Carleigh Reading (Chapter 10)

This chapter starts off by talking about how Lynnette's parents cared for the other children at their house while Lynnette and her husband were staying at the hospital with Anna, and how her parents took care of the farm and milked the goats. So I'm assuming that's behind Holly's first question in the read-along:

Have you ever tried goat's milk?

No! My first ex-husband's parents told me when he was a baby he was allergic to everything except goat's milk and it really stunk up their refrigerator! So I've never even wanted to try it, blech!

I wasn't really sure how to feel about Anna's surgery. On the one hand, I've been there myself (having surgery as a kid) and remember too well how scary it is. On the other hand, if Anna was only 9 months old, there's a great chance she wouldn't remember any of it. I know it must've been really tough seeing her with all the tubes, wires and machines (reminding them of Josiah) too. The thing I found most precious of this whole chapter was when they talked to Anna during this time at the hospital and telling her (remember, a 9 month old) that Jesus was with her too. I just felt like crying. I wonder what that's like, growing up in a family from Day 1 that included Jesus in everything. Because it sure is comforting to me as an adult.

Lynnette mentioned that as Anna recovered from the second surgery, she would respond physically to her parents' touch, like her oxygen saturation level would go up when they held her. Do you think that contact like Anna had with her parents can have a healing effect?

Yes, absolutely! I remember when I was little and had surgery, I would be in the recovery room for hours because I'd always get sick from the anesthesia. As soon as I was back in my room where my parents were waiting, the nurses would ALWAYS comment how quickly my health improved. One funny story too, when I had a hernia repair surgery five years ago, I told my husband how it seemed easier for me to come out of the anesthesia if I knew he was near and I told him to hold my hand as soon as he saw me after the surgery. He did remember to do it but he was squeezing my hand so hard that it really hurt! So it wasn't so helpful having him near that time.