It was about 1 pm and Elisheva had gone downstairs to pull up the car. It was the 25th day of Kislev, the first day of Chanukah, and it was very cold. I was just finishing putting my jacket on and taking a last look around the room that my daughter Ahuvah Nava, was about to leave, Room 4160. I took a peek next door to Room 4158 where Elisheva and I had slept for two weeks. I was told by Betsy, the charge nurse, that it was the first time a hospital bed had ever been brought to the NICU. All other parents sleep on pullout couches, but this was not an option for me. It made me feel loved by the Ribono Shel Olam, and it made me appreciate once again the kindness that had been shown to my wife and me.
My mother-in-law Aliza Bulow put Ahuvah’s oxygen on the back of my wheelchair and placed Ahuvah in her carseat on my lap, and we slowly began to make our exit. The day we have been hoping for, davening for, and yearning for… had come.
When we left the elevator on the first floor, we noticed that there was some kind of performance going on for the children. My mother-in-law asked me, “Are you interested in staying?” I said, “Not even for a minute!” I looked around and took in the sights and sounds of the moment. I slowed my chair down and moved slowly toward the door to the outside. My mother-in-law said, “You weren’t able to carry your bride across the threshold, but you can carry your daughter across the threshold.”
I felt like Hashem’s kindness was just being piled onto me in bucket loads. I had such a big smile on my face as I passed through one set of automatic doors, and then before the second set I stopped. I took a deep breath. The doors had opened and I felt the cold air. I looked up and saw the sun. It felt like Hashem was smiling at me, almost as great as it felt on my wedding day…something very similar. And with that, I pushed the controller forward, and Yehoshua with his daughter Ahuvah Nava took their leave of Children’s Hospital, only to see what the next adventure would bring.
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