Kangaroo Therapy

The phone rang at 5:30 AM. I wondered who would call at such an early hour. It was our daughter, Jodi, who lived over 2 hours away. She and her little family of four had driven through the night to Seattle. They were now at Children's Hospital. Our second grandchild, Travis, only 6 weeks old was in the hospital for an unexpected surgery. They had arrived at the hospital in the middle of the night and after Travis was settled into the ward, the rest of the family slept in the car until they figured they could call us without throwing us into a panic. We drove about 40 miles to the hospital so we could help keep Sean, 18 months old, busy so Jodi and Chris had more time with Travis.

While sitting with Travis in the infant ward I was witness to a practice that totally warmed my heart and reaffirmed my belief in the power of the parent-child connection. I sat in a rocking chair next to Travis, hoping for a chance to hold and rock him in time. Next to Travis's crib was a very tiny premature infant in an incubator. Every so often a nurse would come in with one of the baby's parents and lift the baby out of the warm sterile enviornment. Then she would unwrap the baby while the mother or father would open their blouse or shirt and the tiny baby would be laid against the bare skin of the parent. Belly to belly, so to speak.

After the baby was placed back in the incubator, the nurse stood and visited with me. She explained that this is a procedure called KANGAROO THERAPY. Research shows the infants do better when they have this powerful personal connection. In the womb, they would have that connection and this particular infant had to give it up too soon.

It is my belief that all humans need one on one connections. Although they don't have to all be "Belly to Belly". The older we get the more risky that could be! That's a joke, or is it? These connections may be hand to hand or heart to heart. The fact is humans have a need to connect.

How are you doing? Are you in need of more personal connections? Reach out and connect with relatives, old friends and friends you haven't met yet. Your personal well being is at stake.