Mercy Hospital Centennial Celebration

The local city hospital, Mercy, was begun by the Sisters of Mercy 100 years ago. There have been newspaper, TV and bill-bard ads all over town for several months now. A Catholic can't help but feel proud of the accomplishment that the Sisters made, bringing the first hospital to the area to make good health care available to the people. That's right, Catholic NUNS did this : ) and if you've read my blog before, you know how I LOVE nuns! : )

But fast forward to present day and I have to wonder what the wonderful sisters that began this hospital would have to say... Don't get me wrong... Mercy Hospital has long been a friend of our family... It's where I and my siblings were all born. It's where my nursing Aunt worked her entire career. It's also where I had my last little one... not to mention the couple of times I've had to go for reasons other than pregnancy or childbirth...

As I mentioned, I had my last baby at Mercy Hospital almost 2 years ago. I did all my doctor visits, labs and exams at the hospital where my OBGYN has his practice. Mind you, I was 42 years old during my last pregnancy... but what saddend me most were what seemed like the ENDLESS opportunities for me to "choose" to terminate my pregnancy, without actually vocalizing the words.... The reasons were apparent... It seems it made no difference that I was at a "Catholic" hospital... I felt as though I was bombarded with "help" because of my "advanced" age for pregnancy. However, I think "we" showed them who was really in control : )

Despite my "advanced age" (which, by the way, is over 35, now!!) and thanks to my sweet Doctor, I had my healthiest pregnancy ever, keeping my blood pressure in check, thanks to the magic fish oil caplets, and the preeclampsia at bay. Despite the less than optimistic outlook that their "tests" and "numbers" showed them, I gave birth to a beautifully healthy baby boy, able to light up an entire room with his smile! But even if he was "less than perfect" by society's standards, it wouldn't have mattered because he was truly a gift, from the very beginning. God knows best and gave us this precious 5th soul to add to our family because we wouldn't have been "complete" without him! He was sent to us to teach us to love a little more, give a little more, forgive a little more, serve a little more, use a little more patience and complain a little less.... okay, probably a LOT less : ) and so it is with ALL life, both within the womb and out... Oh, but if hospitals, and medical professionals learned this valuable LIFE lesson that I'm sure the Sisters of Mercy knew and taught, wouldn't the world be a happier place?...