Same time we were on TV last year, and again for the same great hospital which helped bring my sweet little babies into the world.
"Celebration" is what they (CHCH-TV in Hamilton) are calling it these days, but - for a great many years - it was the 'Mother's Day Telethon for McMaster Children's Hospital'.
They moved it up by one weekend chronologically, and changed the name to reflect the mood of the gathering of all of the monies from Children's Miracle Network 'Miracle Club' Memberships, donations, and corporate contributions from the calendar year, and then celebrating the grand
total on the good old tote board.
No matter when they hold it, or what they call it, I will always want to be there, because it brings me back to Earth, and reminds me how very lucky Janne and I are to have these healthy, incredible children to light up our every moment...and how lucky I am to have had this facility and its great doctors and nurses where the twins were born.
Good God. Look at my frickin' head. Tie a string around my neck, and I look just like the balloons on the set behind me, albeit with (hopefully) a little more substance and slightly less air inside.
So, now - the serious part.
This year, rather than stand there and shake hands and accept cheques from generous contributors and applaud their gifts, I was asked to be in the 'patient interview' studio, which was set up in a different room away from the din in the lobby of the Hospital. First of all, I was humbled and honoured to do it, because I prefer to talk to the parents and children who have been affected by the care, warmth, understanding and incredible expertise and knowledge of this hospital's staff - and to help illustrate the reasons that we're raising money for this great facility.
Second, every time I meet parents and children who have needed this oasis of love, compassion, and the perfect blend of treatment and personal attention, I am reminded again of my incredible luck.
I mean, look at them. They're perfect.
Now, look at this lovely bundle of fun. She's six months old, and already weighs more than my 17-month old Morgan. Man, she is cute.
She was also born a twin.
Her mother, Kathy - after only six months of having to deal with losing one of her twin baby girls - made a point of coming into the hospital to tell her story on television, and to speak about the care she received from the staff - doctors, nurses, social workers, et al, and how they helped her through the two short hours she had to spend with her other twin daughter.
While she was pregnant, it was discovered that one of her twin babies had a condition from which she would not recover, and that there was a strong possibility that the baby would be born dead. When it came time to deliver her twins, Kathy was told that they were both alive, and that it turned out she might have a little time to share with the twin daughter she would not be taking home. So, because it was a brain-related condition that would take her twin daughter's life, and the condition meant that the poor baby's head was misshapen, the nurses in the best Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in the country wrapped the little girl in blankets, and put a pretty hat on her head, and presented her to her Mommy, and also gave the newly born beauty you see above the chance to spend a few moments with her sister outside the womb, after having shared the last nine months inside it with her.
Now, I want you to consider how raw your emotions would be if, only six months before your face was in front of television cameras to speak about your ordeal, you had gone through this. How much would it have to matter to you - to tell the world about this miraculous place - to bear your soul so soon after facing that kind of heartbreak? I applaud your bravery, Kathy, and am so proud to have been the person to help you bring your story to light.
And then, while talking to her, this happened.
This beautiful bundle of joy reached for my microphone, so I stuck out my 'baby finger' toward her (the most appropriate time to be so named in my almost 50 years of having fingers) ...and she hung on. As a matter of fact, through the rest of our conversation, I'd wiggle my baby finger, and she would play, sometimes moving to other fingers. I will never forget that little bundle of pure joy.
Afterward, I thought, "This little girl is going to give her Mommy so much love. Kathy's going to be all right." Happy Mother's Day, Kathy, and thank you again.
I managed to keep from crying until I was somewhere in the middle of my drive home to my own beautiful children, when I had once again thought of Kathy, and her lovely little baby girl holding my finger...wishing we lived in that perfect world where she could grow up, as she should, knowing and sharing her world with her twin sister.
By the way - FIVE MILLION DOLLARS WAS RAISED FOR MAC KIDS!
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
