By Kevin Chiri

I get asked a lot about how my teeny, weeny premature grandson Jerry Scott is doing, so I just want to take a moment to let everyone know that he is doing exceptionally well now that he has been home a couple of weeks.

The little guy was up to almost 5 pounds when the doctor told my daughter Chrissy she was going to bring him home, so of course she brought him to our house for the first weekend so mom could help out.

It didn’t seem that long ago when this wild ride with the little fellow began.

Chrissy was not even seven months pregnant, went to the doctor for a checkup, and was put in the hospital since she was so swollen with something they called preeclampsia. Within two days, she delivered the little fellow, weighing in at a mere 2 pounds, 4 ounces. It was only two days before Christmas, so you knew it would be a Christmas we will never forget.

Meantime, Chrissy was so sick in the hospital, even after delivering, since this preeclampsia thing can be life-threatening to the mother. We believed it since you should have seen how swollen up this poor little girl was. And it took several days before the blood pressure even started responding to medication to begin the healing for her.

Thus began a long stay for Jerry Scott in the hospital, and frequent visits from his grandma here in Garyville, as well as from his mom.

For my wife, those visits sitting in the NICU unit were special times. She would just sit and hold him for two hours at a time. I don’t know how she did it for so long, but I could tell that for her, it was pure pleasure to hold that little boy.

And now the little guy has finally gone home. Of course my daughter is excited and nervous as well, but back at her home in Picayune and doing pretty well, especially when you consider she is working full time again, although from her home. Fortunately she is a sports editor for one of our other papers and can do most of her job by calling coaches from home, and writing her stories from home.

Then when her husband gets in at the end of the day, she goes out to cover a game. For a kid her age, the schedule is certainly not easy, and I admire her for the way she is handling it. It’s hard enough bringing your first baby home, but she has a premature one, and now she is working full time. It’s not easy but she is getting it done.

Thankfully Chrissy seems to have most of the basic things she needs to bring a baby into the home, and that is so thanks to a friend of our family.

It is times like these when you see and feel the real love of friends and family come together. When potential tragedies or disasters like this hit, any other problems that may have seemed big before are suddenly like a grain of sand.

We have seen such amazing help for my daughter and my son-in-law since Jerry Scott was born, but nothing as unbelievable as the shower thrown for Chrissy recently by a family friend named Mitzi.

It wasn’t very long after she heard about the baby being born that Mitzi told my wife she wanted to be the one to throw a shower for Chrissy. That was great since my wife was logging many hours back and forth to the hospital already, and the burden of putting on a shower would have been a lot to handle.

But Mitzi is one of those people who does things for people as if it is second nature. Never have we seen a person who has such a giving heart to others—not just us—but to anyone she sees is in need. Her husband Danny has always been the exact same way. He has had an air conditioning business in Slidell since my wife and I were going to school with  them, and even through many ups and downs in his business, Danny has always been a giver to help people in need.

Some people look at those who belong to all the right civic organizations, or those who are pillars of their church family, and figure they are the real, true Christian givers that they know.

And many of those people do, in fact, qualify in that way.

But Mitzi and Danny are two people who give over and over to others, never ever expecting anything in return, and actually even seeming embarrassed if someone acts like they need to reciprocate.

Mitzi didn’t just put on a shower for Chrissy. She put on one of the most beautiful showers you had ever seen, according to my wife. There were amazing decorations everywhere, wonderful food that Mitzi made or bought, cute little table treats for everyone, and on and on.

But what may be more amazing is that Mitzi was doing it for our family at a time when she has a huge load of family burdens of her own, that include some serious illnesses and diseases to some of her kids. Yet there she was on Saturday, smiling and friendly as ever.

Sure, there are many wonderful friends many of us have, and we certainly appreciate them all. But people like Danny and Mitzi are the kind who have the giving spirit you hope and pray your children learn while living in your own house. That is the real heart of Christian giving that is spoken about in the Bible, and we have witnessed it over and over from these two dear friends of ours.

Kevin Chiri is Publisher of L’Observateur and can be reached at (985) 652-9545 or at kchiri@bellsouth.net