Nightly Gathering
Open Thread Post 23
So sleep is finally improving. I believe I went for a full seven last night. I did awaken at some point but went right back to sleep. Thank you to all who are praying for me.
These past several evenings I've been watching a lot of The Amazing Race on Pluto. These are all repeats to me because I was an avid watcher when they were in their regular seasons, but although I remember some of the people, that's about it. Morgan liked Survivor better. I know she spent a decent amount of her tv watching time in 2022 watching old episodes with her boyfriend who'd never watched it.
We used to fantasize about being on one or the other.
As always, use the Open Thread to discuss whatever you want regarding grief or get prayer support.
I read a story tonight, In JAMA of all places, wherein a med student discussed losing her infant son to a tragic genetic disease. In her own words:
I drifted off to sleep with our son in my arms in an overly plush rocker. He was still able to snuggle and breathe smoothly despite the concerning numbers on the pulse oximeter. A few hours passed. I awoke and immediately had the urge to play our song. The soothing tune began in Hebrew: “Do it for Your sake, our God, and not for ours. Look at our position—destitute and empty handed.”2 Seconds later, his heart rate and oxygen saturation dropped. As his color faded, my husband turned off the monitor, so we would not have to watch them go any lower. The song climaxed: “The soul is Yours, and the body is Your doing. Have compassion on Your work.” After our wails of his name stopped, we placed him on his favorite mat and covered him so as not to further disturb the body that Judaism considers still intrinsically holy, continued to recite Psalms to comfort the soul that had just ascended out of its temporary home, and lit a candle near his head. Jewish tradition teaches that the flame reminds us that just after death, the soul hovers above the body. “He’s still so close…,” I thought.