Start Small... Think Big

Happy Web Video Wednesday!



(I wish all of our little guys looked like this. Unfortunately they are usually covered in wires and tubes.)


The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is a mystery for many people. Hidden behind a lock and key, many people don’t have the opportunity to see some of our world’s most determined fighters – fighters for life. From little ones weighing in at just a little over a pound to (what we consider a heavy) eighteen pounds, these infants have had no prior experience with life, yet their strong will pushes them to take that additional breath and challenge all of the odds stacked them. Their thirst for life is what continues to amaze me day in and day out and makes me want to come to work to aid them in their battle.

Being a NICU nurse is not always easy. I love when the opportunity arises and I can cuddle with a baby or see a family walk out the door with their healthy infant. However, sometimes the battles are close, between life and death, and a baby leaves us much too soon. Knowing the comfort of heaven will alleviate the insurmountable pain experienced by some of these little guys helps, but to know that that baby won’t ever take their first steps, smile with their families, go to prom, or have children of their own hurts. Here is a video of a “glimpse” into the world that I see when I come to work.



We aren’t God, and we don’t know God’s plans and I have come to accept that. There are organizations, though, that through research, education, and outreach, are attempting to find ways to keep the infant in the womb longer, and then to preserve life better once they join us here on Earth. This would be the March of Dimes.

As a NICU nurse, we are given the wonderful opportunity to choose to care for the same infant during their hospital stay, and we refer to them as our “primary.” Now home, one of my primary’s families has stepped up in a big way to raise awareness of premature infants. During this past month I have seen my primary’s miraculous story on radio-thons, the hospital website, and now for March of Dimes. I am so proud of both him and his family, and would like to share his story with you. Below is a video of his fight as well as the radiothon story, and a link to his family’s March of Dimes page. Any donation – big or small- will help us not only find answers to one day solve prematurity, birth defects, and low birth weight but to educate and support the little ones and their families now.





River of Hope Radiothon at the Monroe Carrel Jr Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt - Grey's Story

(Click the link above and make sure your volume is up.)





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