A Routine

DIANE: You occasionally get a nurse or a doctor who says, "Mrs. _____", you really should step out for this procedure." Some of them make you leave. That bothers me I've always been there. My husband has been back and forth always between work and my other son and the hospital. I'm at the hospital around the clock.

DIANE: Jake and I have sort of gotten this little routine down and he really, really trusts me. And I think he trusts that I will stay and I think he trusts that if I tell him it's only going to hurt for a minute, it's only going to hurt for a minute. I think he and I make a pretty good team to help the doctors and nurses.

DIANE: It still bothers me when I'm asked or told to step out. The ICU is a really hard place to be because there's a lot of procedures that you're allowed to stay for on the floor (that just because it's in ICU) they make you step out in ICU. That's hard because you feel just so frustrated by it. You always worry about making a "stink" because you don't want to alienate these nurses and doctors that "hold your child's life in their hands." That's always a fine line that you walk.