Tuesday, April 27, 2010

My Michelle

Or should I say “Our Michelle!"


When Michelle walked through the door, she was like a breath of fresh air. I knew she was absolutely perfect within 1 hour’s time. Honestly, for me it is a rarity to say something is perfect.  I never thought I would find someone like her. I thought I would find someone that was good and tolerable. Not great and completely enjoyable!


Michelle posses so many wonderful qualities! I am going to try to sum her up within a few paragraphs, but I can assure you, I will not be doing her justice.




First and foremost she believes in Aviana more than anything. Michelle views Aviana through the very same eyes as The Institute. She is more than hopeful and wants to help Aviana in any way possible.

Michelle and I have the same exact attitude toward those little boxes on the spreadsheet. She is OCD, just like me! I never thought I would meet another.

Michelle only needed everything explained one time and it was as though she memorized it. She patterns like she has been doing it her entire life. Her care for Aviana is a seamless extension of our care. I don’t know where one ends and the other begins.

Michelle is so much fun to be around. She brings so much life into this house. I didn’t realize how desperately we needed that until she walked through the door. I just know Aviana is smiling and laughing on the inside whenever she is around.

She weaves in stories of hope throughout her conversations. She is so uplifting. She is like walking optimism.

Michelle has a knack for saying things that never crossed my mind. One day,  I was describing her recovery as soooo slow. Michelle said it may be slow from the outside, but Aviana is probably making leaps and bounds on the inside. This single sentence stuck to me like super glue. Every time I look at Aviana that is now all I can think.

Normally, the agency puts two nurses on one case. They divide the week up amongst them both. After meeting Michelle, I called the company and said, I want Michelle and Michelle only! I let them know that whatever days she couldn’t be here, I would do myself (thanks Ellen.)

I feel blessed that we were lucky enough to find her, but to have her 5 days a week…..I can’t even put what I feel into words.

I hope you enjoyed the story. Sorry about all the background, but I just wanted you all to know why she is so special :o)

19 comments:

  1. Fantastic!

    Looks like you have a new best Jen ... what an absolute blessing!

    I felt the same way about my new mother's helper. It took some work to find her but she's here now!

    Andrea

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  2. SO EXCITED FOR YOU!!!!!! Avi looks fantastic and love following your blog!!!

    I have a question - and understand if you do not have time to answer...

    What is the patterning table and what does it help with? Just curious :)

    Sending TONS of happy thoughts your way!!!

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  3. WOW!! How does that saying go? You have to kiss a few frogs before you find your prince? In this case..princess!!! hehe! I am so happy for you all! What a blessing this will be for your whole family! Michelle looks as though she fits perfectly into your family and she also seems to have a sense of humor, which is a must! YAY!

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  4. WOOHOOOO!!!!

    you found your PERFECT FIT......i just KNEW she was out there waiting for you to discover!!! :)

    i'm so happy for you & michelle (and of course aviana & dave too) .....

    when i read the title i just KNEW this was YOUR PERFECT NURSE!!! ...when i was a little girl i begged my parents for a baby sister...but all they 'gave' me was baby brothers.....for most of my childhood i remember asking my mom "when are you going to bring home MY MICHELLE" (you see my sister already had a name even though she did not exist).....FINALLY 9 years and 363 days after i was born MY MICHELLE came into this world & made me the happiest big sister ever (you must have seen her in my blog post, right?)

    ....anywhoo i am SO VERY VERY VERY HAPPY that you have found your very own MY MICHELLE!!!

    <3 ~j

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  5. Jen,
    Awesome!!!!! I am so glad that Michelle was sent to you! She is exactly what you all need so very much! What a true miracle.

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  6. Jen,

    SOOOOOOOOOOO happy for you guys!! What a blessing to have someone who possesses all those wonderful qualities you described. It really makes a difference having someone with a positive and understanding attitude. I LOVE the masking photos. Fantastic news!! Looking forward to hearing more!

    Love,

    Shana

    Love,

    Shana

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  7. Yay! I'm so glad that you've found someone. Sometimes you just have to kiss a few frogs to find your prince, you know?

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  8. I am SOOOO glad you found such an awesome nurse! We have a couple and they're ok, but not fantastic.

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  9. This makes me SOOOOOOO happy! YEAHHHH!!!!

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  10. :-D

    Will she help you with your blog posts, too? (kidding!!!)

    hugs!

    JS

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  11. I love Your Michelle too!!! You can really see the wonderful way she worked with Avi. I especially like the masking picture!!!
    So happy for you and Aviana!!!
    Gail

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  12. From the photos, it appears as though Michelle has been there for weeks - she just seems to fit in so seamlessly, and her feeling and respect for Aviana shine through in every shot. Aviana looks great. I think you just may have found your very own Mary Poppins/ Florence Nightingale combo----and all of you deserve that. (I bet that somebody as special as Michelle is probably thrilled to have found a family as motivated as the Hodders too.)

    Love,
    Ellen

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  13. i'm crying. it was worth the wait. now avi has another full time cheerleader. whoop!!

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  14. Oh, I am so happy for you and Avi that I have teeny tiny tears! I just love seeing Michelle acting like such a knowlegeable and comforting friend to the princess. And she looks so happy to be there!!!

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  15. Woohoo! And, I love the fact that she kinda bears a slight resemblance to you - like a long, lost sister! Take full advantage of this and enjoy some time to yourself. :)

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  16. How absolutely wonderful! What a blessing that you have found someone that will love Avi and care for her like a family member. I'm so happy for you! I hope you can get your break now. Maybe you, me and Gina should go get a pedicure? Or at the very least go to happy hour. ;)

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  17. Just wanted to say I am sooo happy you found your perfect one!
    ....and Avianna looks so cute! :-)

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  18. SO SO SOOOO HAPPY to read this! Wow... amazing and truly wonderful! :)

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  19. I'm so happy for all of you! I know it takes a lot of patience to find the person who fits and I know you have a lot of that....so worth waiting for!

    Dixie

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