A Tale of Two Clare's

S~ So a thought occured to Teresa and I during this past cath-we have had twins! We realized that we have not one, but two Clare Therese's. There is the home Clare, who gives us smiles that light up your day, surprises us by rolling over well before we thought she would, loves to play patty cake with Mommy, dotes on her big brother, and watches her Daddy's every move. Then there is the hospital Clare, she on the other hand is VERY SICK as all the doctors tell us, she has had multiple balloon dilations of her pulmonary branches, will need open heart surgery and will probably have a catheter every two months until she is about two years old. Our Two Clares! We came to this realization when our Parish Priest stopped by to see us in Boston. After the visit Teresa and I remarked how quiet he seemed. I think the reason was is that he has never met the Hospital Clare. The Clare he knows, the one he baptized and performs the Sacrament of the Sick on is the home Clare. The one who, if you didn't know better, looks like any other six month old baby. I think it was also the reason I had such a hard time seeing her in the ICU (besides the fact that a parent should never have to see their little baby like that). This was not my Clare in there. This Clare had two tubes coming out of her mouth and her tiny bed was surrounded by every sort of machine you could think of. One checking her vitals, one operating her breathing machine, a machine to pump Heparin (a blood thinner to prevent clotting) through her, and an I.V. pump supplying her with nutrients until she can feed again. That is why I cried so hard; This was not my Clare. It was also why I started crying again the next morning when they unhooked her so that Teresa could nurse her. Seeing her doing something so normal as nursing was such a wonderful sight. So without further ado I would like to introduce you to our two Clare's: Hospital Clare and Home Clare!