For the Love of Babies: One Doctor's Stories About Life in the Neonatal ICU

What takes place in the neonatal intensive care unit is the high drama of real life. The author pulls back the curtain to show the inner workings of this area in the hospital that is unfamiliar and frightening to most people. Hall, a longtime neonatologist and former social worker, writes with caring and compassion about the challenges each fragile baby must surmount in order to survive and thrive, all the while conveying a sense of life-and-death urgency that permeates neonatal intensive care. She expertly weaves the social and emotional threads of each family’s journey into their baby’s story, and also speaks candidly about the stresses and difficult decisions that neonatologists and their tiny patients’ parents routinely face.

Taken all together, the sixteen stories give an insightful, vivid and moving portrayal of life in the high-stakes world of the neonatal intensive care unit.

This book is for anyone who has wondered how doctors and nurses work under intense pressure to diagnose and treat the smallest of patients, and how parents of these infants cope with the emotional ups and downs that are part the daily rhythms of life in the NICU.

What takes place in the neonatal intensive care unit is the high drama of real life. The author pulls back the curtain to show the inner workings of this area in the hospital that is unfamiliar and frightening to most people. Hall, a longtime neonatologist and former social worker, writes with caring and compassion about the challenges each fragile baby must surmount in order to survive and thrive, all the while conveying a sense of life-and-death urgency that permeates neonatal intensive care. She expertly weaves the social and emotional threads of each family’s journey into their baby’s story, and also speaks candidly about the stresses and difficult decisions that neonatologists and their tiny patients’ parents routinely face.

Taken all together, the sixteen stories give an insightful, vivid and moving portrayal of life in the high-stakes world of the neonatal intensive care unit.

This book is for anyone who has wondered how doctors and nurses work under intense pressure to diagnose and treat the smallest of patients, and how parents of these infants cope with the emotional ups and downs that are part the daily rhythms of life in the NICU.

You can call me OP - Original Punk - A True Story (episode 1) I thought about telling some of my stories from my early punk-rock days in NY's famous (the)Village, Thompkins Sq. Park and Alphabet City. I came to NY in the early 80's, just in time to be part of the slow painful death of Punk. I was 21yrs old straight out of the cornfields of smalltown Indiana. I was running from a expected path of marriage,babies and bowling. I had visited NYC ,staying with friends in Brooklyn. I took the bus and I still can remember the smell of the bus fumes,all the people rushing,and the confusion of Grand Central Terminal. My friends were to meet me, but the bus had been delayed and they were at the wrong place.I was scared and lost when I walked out a door and found myself on 42nd St.noise and lights and too many people for this country girl. After I realized that I better go back inside, I saw my friends coming to meet me.This was going to be an adventure and I had just gotten here.After settling in my friend Michele's house in Bay Ridge,Brooklyn.We hit the subway to go into the'city'. Walking the same block that John Travolta had strode down in Saturday Night Fever, I looked up at the EL(elevated train) and Michele handed me a token.The train cars were just like you thought they should look-covered with graffiti,trash and a bum or two.We took the train to West 4th street and into punk central. Mohawks,leather,chains and Doc Martens were the outfit of the moment.The street held an odd mix of characters-tourists taking pictures of punks flipping them the bird and teens from Jersey trying to be cool.The smell had the sweet smokey scent of Djarum clove cigarrettes and an underlying stink of urine and garbage.Sounds of honking horns and cursing cab drivers could barely be heard over the music that boomed from the open doors of Flip,a punk clothing and accessories store.It was either the Sex Pistols or The Ramones and I was drawn in, coming face to face with a very large man called Mongo.He was store security but he hid a sweetness behind his hulking facade.I did not know then that exactly 1 year later this man would save my life. TO BE CONTINUED

Two weeks after Dallas came home, when he was just a wee baby of ten weeks - he began to have seizures. The first one was on my son's birthday, March 31. We were so scared, we did not know what to do.
After a series of mild episodes during the week, on Easter Sunday Dallas suffered a massive seizure which left him unable to walk. The vet said he would never recover and to put him to sleep, but I wasn't ready to do that with a twelve week old puppy. So I found a new vet!

I had to carry him outside to go potty. I had to hold his trembling head so he could eat and drink. My new, wonderful vet worked with me constantly trying to stabilize the pup. She did not hold out much hope, but we did have him stabalized and that was something. At first he did not seem to improve, and I had an appointment at U of M to have him put to sleep if the treatments did not work.

Then, suddenly, Dallas began to improve. Slowly, steadily, he became able to do things on his own. A miracle happened!

We kept our appointment at the U of M Vet School - so that we could walk in, triumphant. Dallas' charmed the entire staff there and they were all so happy with me - they knew his whole story as my vet had been working with them all along. :) EKG showed minimal brain damage. Dallas was going to be fine!

It was discovered that Dallas had a bad reaction to vaccines he had been given. His immune system was not mature enough to handle the vaccinations. Three of his other littermates also had reactions, but none as bad as Dallas. Due to this I never allowed him to be used as a stud dog, even though he was a gorgeous boy.

Remember the photos last summer of JR lake, and the vet on the horse? That was Dr. Seidl, the vet who saved Dallas' life when he was just a young sprout!
Dallas was and always will be my miracle dog - and oh, so special to me. We bonded very closely during those dark days, a bond that will never be broken.