Christy’s Nurses

In Honor of Christy’s Nurses

Christy’s Nurses

“…The one who is gracious to the needy honors his Maker.” (Proverbs 14:31)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On December 7, 1985, Christy Therese Olachea was born. The day after she was born in Statesville, NC, she was rushed to Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, NC, for a heart catheterization. It was discovered that she had transposition of the great arteries. The prognosis was not good. There had been a few successful surgeries in the United States at that time, but only one in North Carolina. The good news was that her surgeon was the one who had performed that surgery successfully. Unfortunately, due to complications and multiple heart defects, Christy only lived for two months and nineteen days, but we treasure the eighty-one days we had with her. God used her life to impact the lives of many people, including us! And we were blessed by so many who came through our lives during her short lifetime. Taped inside her bed, we posted these verses from II Corinthians 4:15-18:

For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God.

Therefore, we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

We learned many lessons through Christy’s life. We can now look back and see countless ways that God used Christy’s suffering and our time of deep trial for our good and for His glory. But only in eternity will we see what is not yet seen, what God accomplished through the life of our precious baby girl.

Today, as I “stretch” back into my memory thirty years ago, I want to honor some very special people who spoke into our lives during those days, who loved our baby Christy, and ministered not only to our family, but to the families of many other little babies during the time that Christy was in the NICU at Baptist Hospital. I want to honor some women of wisdom who were gracious to “the needy,” and in their graciousness honored our Creator God.

I could never name all of those who cared for Christy and ministered to us during those difficult months. Each and every person who spoke into our lives was an incredible gift from the Lord. From pastors who stopped by the hospital and prayed over Christy, leaving notes when we were not there to those who cared for our little children at home. People helped by cleaning our house, preparing meals, praying diligently, providing funds to help with the expenses, and sending notes or cards of encouragement – to each one we are forever grateful. But today I want to honor some very special nurses from Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem who were “Christy’s” nurses. Cyndi, one of her first nurses, made a beautiful Moravian star paper ornament and gave it to us when we first came to Baptist Hospital after I was released from the hospital in Winston-Salem. She called it the “Star of Hope”.  We still hang it near the top of our Christmas tree every year. We remember Cyndi’s gentle kindness on those first days of Christy’s life.

Many of Christy’s seventy-eight days at Baptist Hospital required that she have one-on-one care. There were three special nurses who were with her twenty-hours a day, each for eight hours, five days each week. Lynn, Sue, and Dawn will always be remembered with love and appreciation as they lovingly cared for our baby girl each day. Lynn and Dawn drove the hour and a half to Mooresville, NC, for Christy’s funeral on a snowy February morning. They cried and grieved with us and blessed us by their presence. Sue was onher shift at the hospital, but sent her love. We are so thankful for each one who encouraged us, loved on us, and celebrated Christy’s life with us.

I remember the day we walked into the hospital on Christy’s two-month old birthday. A cake had been baked in her honor and the nurses had decorated her bed with a “Happy Birthday, Christy” sign. On Christmas day, they her dressed in red, wrapped gifts for our family, and celebrated Christmas with us and our three little children who spent Christmas day at the hospital so they could visit their baby sister. And then came the day when we found out that Christy would be able to come home. She was seventy-nine days old. The plan was that Christy would go home, grow, and when she turned three years old, she would have surgery to “fix” her heart. When we walked into the NICU that day, there was a big sign on her bed, “Mooresville or Bust!” She was coming home. Little did we know that God had other plans to “fix” her heart. It would only be a day and a half at home, and then she went to be with Jesus who fixed her completely, rescued her from a life of pain and suffering, and allowed her to grow up in heaven with him. Can you imagine growing up in heaven? Perfect beauty, no sin, no need for naps, no falling down and skinning a knee. Perfect love. The perfect heavenly Father. What an amazing thing that must have been for her!

And one day we see Christy again. We will find out about those things which are not seen. For now, we live by faith, we see the grace of God in this life, and rejoice in His goodness that was poured out on us through the graciousness and ministry of Christy’s nurses thirty years ago, who lovingly cared for our baby girl and by their actions honored their Maker, our heavenly Father who gives good gifts to His children.

Thank you, Lynn, Dawn, Sue, Cyndi, Tammy, and all of Christy’s nurses. Thank you to each nurse who ministers to the helpless and needy every day.