Lauren says she sat down to write your letter and a poem came out. So here it is …

Whispers In the Wind

As her baby slept in the safety of his crib,

She wept.

As she listened to his cries,

Her mind raced,

Her skin tingled,

Her heart constricted.

As he played quietly on the floor,

Her breath caught

As words attempted

To escape.

Words that if uttered could

Change everything.

Words that would

Allay her fears and

Soothe her tears.

Every minute of every hour

She would breathe deeply and

Hope.

Hope to find the courage

To let those words be torn from her throat.

Hope that today would be the day

She would once again find herself.

Hour by Hour she clawed against time

Fighting for her very soul.

Struggling against the dark storm surrounding

Her new existence.

Where was her bright and bubbly?

Her soft and cuddly?

She finds herself abandoned instead

In the land of the

Unabashedly Clamorous Infant

Only pretending to sleep.

Then her day came.

Brimming with determined fervor,

She let all of her fears tumble away into

The Ears of her doctor.

Even with a long road ahead of her

She discovers the joy of her infant's smile,

The peace in his drowsy rest,

The quiet happiness of his play.

No longer is she counting the seconds

Before his next nap. No, now she

Counts the seconds before they are

Reunited.

In due time even the thick fog in

Which she had been trapped fades away

As abruptly as a whisper in the wind.

She has survived.

Conquered fears, turned away tears,

Embraced the future of her years.

A simple message for all

Now resides deep within her heart.

There is hope.

There is strength.

Most importantly though

This newly survived Mother wants you to know

You are not alone.

Lauren Hale is a two-time survivor of Postpartum OCD. She serves as a coordinator for the state of Georgia for Postpartum Support International and as moderator of the PPD and Pregnant & Depressedmessage boards at iVillage.com. She also writes the blog Sharing the Journey.