Happy Birthday Peg!

Today is our dear friend Peggy's 60th birthday.  60!! Seriously, how can she be 60? (same way I'm almost 50, I suppose!)  Peggy was in her 40s when we first met her  .... on a warm June day back in 1999.  My long time blog followers have already heard the story of Peggy and how she almost didn't come to be one of Jack's nurses and, as a result, one of my very best friends.  For those who don't know the story, I'll share it again:

Peggy came into our lives about a week after Jack was discharged from the hospital as a baby - trached and vented - back in June, 1999. Peggy walked into our home to a scene she will always remember. Jack's night nurse and I were standing over Jack's crib, which was located in our living room, bagging him through a period of respiratory distress. What I didn't know at the time was that Peggy had made it very clear to the nursing agency she was working for that she didn't take care of kids on vents. Trachs, yes ... vents, no! Not a problem they told her, Jack was only on the vent at night (not exactly true). When she left that day, Peggy told me that although Jack was a really sweet baby, she probably wouldn't be back because she didn't take care of kids on vents. Well, Peggy couldn't stay away. She fell head over heels in love with Jack, and he with her and she never looked back. Peggy has been a significant part of Jack's and our lives ever since that day back in June, 1999.


Peggy took on the challenge of caring for medically fragile children in their homes not because she had to work, but because she has a special place in her heart for kids like ours.  Peggy didn't just come into your home and provide nursing care for your child, she embraced and cared for the entire family. She would often take "her" kids into her home for the weekend so that mom and dad can have some respite time.  When we lived in St. Louis, she always included our family in holiday celebrations with her own family because we didn't have extended family in St. Louis. She attended my kids' First Communions, graduations and special events in lieu of my own family, who lived out of state. And, as difficult as it was for her to say good-bye to "her" Jack when we moved back to Arizona, Peggy made the trek across country with us when we moved back home. Peggy and her husband have always graciously opened their home to us when we come back to St. Louis for Jack's doctors' appointments and surgeries.  Peggy is like a sister to me and it is such a privilege and a blessing to have her in my life.  If there is one thing that makes the difficulty of this life with Jack worth it -- it is the fact that we gained a friend named Peggy!

Some pictures of Peggy and Jack over the years:

Happy Birthday Peg  ~ We Love you!