Going Home

Tammy Trace, OB/GYN Residency Program Manager Reading Hospital – Tower Health

On rainy April night many years ago, a baby boy named Trent was born at Reading Hospital. His mom was concerned because minutes after his birth, the delivery room was suddenly swarming with people. He wasn’t breathing. “I hear bowel sounds in his chest”, a nurse said. Trent was quickly taken to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and diagnosed with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

Trent was later transferred to Hershey Medical Center via helicopter, but his mom was allowed to see him in the NICU before he left. She touched and kissed him. On meeting the flight team, she was informed that the flight to Hershey would only last twelve minutes, which was reassuring. The pilot promised to call her when they landed because she was concerned about the stormy weather.

Back in her room, lying on her bed with tears in her eyes, Trent’s mom heard the helicopter take off. Her arms reached towards the window as the helicopter flew away. The roaring sound of the helicopter was one she would never forget.

Several hours later a nurse called from Hershey to say Trent was stable. What a relief! The next morning, Trent’s mom was driven to Hershey Medical Center. Soon after her arrival, his condition turned grave, and he was placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for ten days.

On day 12, Trent’s diaphragmatic hernia was repaired, and although he was initially stable, his condition declined rapidly several hours after the surgery. The doctors did not expect him to survive. Angry and frustrated, his mother yelled at God, “Trent is not ready to die.” She prayed and cried until she finally fell asleep. Surprisingly, she slept so well that night and woke up realizing she never received the dreaded call. She called the NICU and the nurse reported that a miracle had happened, and Trent was beathing room air! She cried tears of joy and gave thanks to God.

On day 43, Trent was discharged from Hershey Medical Center. He was finally going home! He had a few complications after discharge but overcame them all. He grew up to be a determined three-year-old, small but mighty. Trent loved all creatures in life and had an affection for snakes and bumble bees. He would catch them with his bare hands and then bring them to his mom as gifts.

One night in August 2002 Trent was going to spend the night with his great-grandmother. He kept telling his mom that he wanted to go home. When she responded, “Ok, I’ll take you home”, he would say, “No! I want to stay with Grandma Grace.” So, his mom dropped him off at Grandma Grace’s house and with a sparkle in his eyes and a grin on his face, he turned to her, waved, and said, “See ya!”

Post script: Little did I realize those would be the last words my son said to me. He went to sleep that night and went “home”. I learned the true meaning of “going home”. I cried and gave thanks for the gift Trent had given me, the gift of knowing. From the wisdom of a three-year-old I learned that his homegoing did not have the finality of “good-bye” but rather, someday I will “see ya”. 27