Watching a child toddle off to school after a long battle in the hospital ranks as perhaps one of the deepest joys imaginable. And, though a two week stay in the Hospital de Niños of Costa Rica was not a place I ever wanted to be - or any hospital for that matter - it was more than worth the time spent.

My discomfort was nothing compared to the pain I saw many families going through as they sat by the beds of the children, wiping up the sweat and vomit and emptying bed pans. Though we all wished for a comfortable bed to sleep on, each mother knew that it was nothing. Nothing, for it was for their child.

Every child born in Costa Rica has the right to medical treatment. Period. No child is turned away. And as I watched each child go through their treatment for whatever ailed them, I also saw an incredible patience by the medical team to be sure no one was sent home less healthy than when they arrived. The nurses have their hands full. That’s where parents must take a part in the care. There’s just not enough money for all the benefits of a private hospital to go around.  And what seems like an eternity of sleepless nights and drugs and waiting for blood results to arrive quickly becomes a moment, a story recounted in the past.

Addison pointed at the picture of his class this morning and squealed with so much excitement, we had to keep a close eye that he wouldn’t try to jump out the window to get to his morning bus. That’s the moment the long haul turned into a flash of light and lit up a new life to come.