Children of the Heart

Many years ago when I was a very young nurse, I worked in the Intensive Care Unit. I remember one particular day when I had been assigned to care for a little girl who had just come back from major heart surgery. After getting all the typical post-surgical tubes, wires, catheters, and IV fluids, etc. connected up and situated properly, another nurse covered for me for a short time so I could go to the waiting area to bring the parents back to the ICU to see their child. As I walked towards them, I noticed the anxious expression on their faces. Dear God, I said to myself, wait till they see how pale and fragile their little girl looks. They're going to be terrified when they see all those tubes and wires.
For some reason, on the short walk from the waiting room back to the ICU, one of the parents happened to mention that their child was adopted. I don't remember the rest of the conversation but I do remember that I felt a real sense of relief when I heard it. I felt this relief because - at the time - I was under the mistaken belief that they wouldn't be quite so nervous since their child was adopted and not "their own".
In a matter of a few short years, I found out first hand that I had never been so wrong about anything in my life. No matter how your children come to you, they are your "own children". You love them as dearly whether they come out of your womb or grow in your heart. Where they are concerned, you suffer as much joy and as much sorrow as any other parent.
.......................to be continued