HUGS...not the Hershey type ones

I have stated many times that I am not a "huggie" type of person. (Okay, I do like Hershey Hugs). Sometimes, I wish I were more of the "huggie" type, but then, sometimes I am glad that I am not. Does that make sense?



But, I have a niece that is very much a "huggie" type of person. Her name is Lyndsie and she will be 17 next week. I am not sure that Lyndsie knows that I am not a "huggie" type of person because she gives me lots of hugs anyway. Do you know what? Every time she gives me a hug...there is something just sweet about it. For instance, tonight, Mom and I went to see my nephew, Austin play baseball. We were about 20 feet away, when Lyndsie spotted us. She jumps out of her chair and runs towards us, yelling "Grandma", "Aunt Chelle". When she reaches us, we each get a hug and she starts talking a mile a minute. Like I said, there is just something sweet about it. She just makes me smile!!! Okay, she is just simply crazy. Then, as she was leaving, she gives each of us a hug and again and tells us that she loves us. This happens to me every time I see her. It is so natural for her to just give hugs. Lyndsie, I just love your hugs--THANKS!!



So, that got me thinking about hugs--no, not the Hershey type ones, but the real human ones...I remember reading a story about two newborn babies and searched for it and here it is...it is called the "Rescuing Hug".





Kyrie and Brielle Jackson were born on October 17, 1995, at the Massachusetts Memorial Hospital in Worcester. Each of the twins weighed all of two pounds at birth and were each in their respective incubators, but one was not expected to live. Though Kyrie was putting on a bit of weight in the days following her arrival, her sister, Brielle, was not doing as well. She cried a great deal, leaving her gasping and blue-faced. Brielle was having a particularly bad day. Newborn Intensive Care Unit nurse Gayle Kasparian tried everything to calm her. She held her. She had her dad hold her. She wrapped her in a blanket. She suctioned her nose.

Nothing worked.

Then she remembered hearing about a procedure done in Europe where twins were placed together in the same incubator; however, this was against Massachusetts Memorial Hospital's rules. Knowing that the one twin had little time to live, she put Brielle in the incubator with her sister Kyrie contrary to the hospital's rules.The healthier twin Brielle snuggled up next to Kyrie and put her arm over her sister in an endearing embrace. Almost immediately the smaller baby's heart rate stabilized and her temperature rose to normal. Her blood-oxygen saturation levels, which had been frighteningly low, soared. She began to breathe more easily. The frantic crying stopped and her normal pinkish color quickly returned.

Over the next weeks, her health improved steadily in her new, less lonely quarters. The children survived their rocky beginning and in time went home with their parents. When last heard from, Brielle and Kyrie were healthy preschoolers.When the dramatic change in Brielle's life became apparent to the hospital staff and then in the community, Chris Christo of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette came to the hospital and took a photograph of the two together. This photograph immediately became famous and has appeared in Life Magazine and Reader's Digest.



This is probably one of my all time favorite stories. I love the picture of the little baby putting her arm around her struggling sister. Isn't that what life is all about--loving and helping each other along the way.


I am working on my "hugs" and I am grateful for ALL of Lyndsie's hugs. They are definitely welcomed anytime and I am grateful that she is a part of our family.