A Mother’s Day in the hospital

Shazia Memon

導讀：5月的第二個星期日是母親節。所有母親都希望孩子們健康成長，可并不是都能如愿。

The first time I worked on Mothers Day， I saw the day through a different view. My patients mother usually came in every morning after her night job and slept on the hospital sleeper chair for a few hours. But that morning， she arrived wearing her Sunday best and her finest necklace. In her hand were a camera and a dress for the baby. She wanted a picture with her daughter， and asked if we could do everything possible to make her look less like a patient and more like a “normal” child.

Her daughter was an 11 month-old baby who had been born prematurely. Her entire short life was in our hospital. For the picture， we carefully removed the medical equipment， took off the hospital cloth and put the dress on for her. The mom held her in her arms for a few precious seconds， smiling with pride. I took the photo and we quickly placed her back in the crib and again put all of her lifelines together. The mom happily smiled at the picture and a few days later she hung a print copy of it in front of the crib.

I guess I didnt know what to expect that day. Maybe I thought that there was no worse way to spend Mothers Day than with your child in a hospital， and why would anyone want to celebrate it in a situation like that？ Its typically a day for families to show gratefulness to the mother. This single mom had no one to give her thanks， and her baby didnt have the ability to see her purposely， not to mention giving her a smile. But for her， it was a day to be thankful to be a mother， to be able to feel that love for a child who is yours. It was a different approach—the only approach she had a chance to take. She took it with so much grace that it amazed me.

Vocabulary

prematurely adv. 早產地

precious adj. 珍貴的

crib n. 嬰兒床

approach n. 方式

（What can you do for your mother on Mothers Day？）