July
29, 2012
To whom it may concern,
I
am so privileged to be able to speak to the character of Susana and Jose. My first recollection of them as a couple was
in late December of 2007. Their son, Joseph, had been born with multiple
complex heart defects and hours after his birth he underwent massive
reconstructive surgery. I heard about
Jose and Susana before I actually met them. There was a rumor going around our
hospital unit that Jose had parked their car on the top floor of the parking
garage across from Susana’s hospital room and wrote a big message on the window
“You’re the best Mom in the world. I love you Susana”. So you can imagine hearing a story like that
you want to see for yourself who these people were. They didn’t
disappoint. I saw them bring Joseph into
his room after surgery and knew he was very sick. When they brought Jose and
Susana to see Joseph for the first time you can imagine just how devastating it
was for them to see their first born son full of tubes, connected to every
monitor imaginable. The love and grace
from them and between them was just as touching on that day as every day that
followed. Joseph was looked after by the
nursing staff and the physicians, but we could never give him what his family
did. There was always someone in the
room with him, practically a 24 hour vigil. This went on until early April when
they lost their beautiful baby boy.
You
can judge the character of someone in all manner of ways. I met Joseph’s big
sister Joseline during this time and I have never met such a beautiful, mature,
polite, and well behaved little girl. When they redecorated her bedroom in pink
princess colors, there was never a little girl who deserved it more. She was
raised by parents that spoiled her with love and affection but instilled in her
the very same grace and respect that they valued. I will be a better parent having known them.
The
heartbreaking loss of Joseph on April 4th was a pain I could never
endure again. He was not my child. They were not my family. I wanted more than
anything to do something to make it somehow have meaning. I stopped doing
pediatric nursing. We have stayed in
touch and on December 27th every year I say a prayer for them and
think Joseph would have been 2, 3, 4, and this year he would have been 5. People who are careless with their lives,
with their values, and with their morals do not stay in your soul. Susana,
Jose, Joseline, Joseph, and their newest addition Jose will always be in my
heart. They are truly wonderful people.
Warm Regards,
Brooke Albertson, RN
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