We made preparations for the baby’s admission while the neonatologist, aware that this may be an intestinal problem involving surgery, notified our newly hired pediatric surgeon. Then we waited. A few hours passed, and I made the comment, “What is taking so long, are
they coming by horse and buggy?” During the wait, I began to think about what I knew of the Amish. I had read a few books but realized that I didn’t know much besides they were a modest, conservative religious group who didn’t drive cars or have electricity. I thought I knew that women didn’t do much of the speaking unless it was in the privacy of their own home and that they didn’t like their pictures taken because the second commandment opposes making a likeness of anything in heaven or on earth. As I became more aware of my ignorance of Amish culture, I also pondered the fact that this family was about to walk into one of the most high-tech hospi- tal environments that exist, the NICU.