A beautiful gift for the moms of the tiniest, sickest babies
They are gifts just by being themselves, of course. But even the tiniest and sickest babies can offer a special present to Mom on Mother's Day — with a little help from their nurses.
Tiny handprints have been taken with love over the past few days by the nurses in the Nursery Intensive Care Unit at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center. The handprints then were used as flowers on the front of special Mother's Day cards.
Logan, son of Kassidi and Chance Kelly of Prescott, was born on March 10 with a number of serious complications, including a heart defect.
“These little handprints will go in my scrapbook and remind me every year of how blessed we are that he is alive. Our baby would not be alive if he hadn’t been born at St. Joe’s," Kassidi said.
"I’m looking forward to spending all day at the hospital on Mother’s Day with Logan.”
The NyICU at St. Joseph's treats nearly 800 premature babies every year from throughout the Southwest, according to the hospital.
Some of the infants weigh less than a pound; some can remain in the hospital for weeks.
Christy Nordsiek, a nurse in the St. Joseph's NyICU, said, “Many of these parents spend months with us in the NyICU. They totally put their lives on hold. I always tell these moms and dads that they need to take care of themselves too and go out for a date night sometimes. They need to find balance.
"That is what we are here for, to take care of the babies and their families.”
Lindsay Meisner and Brad Jensen and their baby, Berlynn, were spending time together Friday and admiring Berlynn's handprint.
She was born on Feb 28. Three weeks after that, Berlynn had her first surgery, and 60 percent of her intestines were removed. She will face another surgery in the coming weeks.
“Every day is Mother’s Day to me. I’m just so fortunate to have Berlynn,” Meisner said. “Making these little handprint cards just makes everything feel normal. We have a long road ahead, but I think we can see a point of normalcy. I’m 34 and we had been trying for two years to have a baby. And then, wow, this happened. But, I couldn’t ask for a more precious gift than our Baby B.”
Jensen said, “I can say that this is the most heart-wrenching but still the most wonderful experience I have ever had. We are very proud parents, and the nurses here at St. Joseph’s have made us feel like family.”
Nordsiek encourages others to support the parents of children in intensive care.
"I want people to know that when their friends have a child who is born prematurely or with serious medical conditions, they should still always congratulate the parents. Don’t hesitate. Congratulate them. Some people are afraid to say that, but they shouldn’t be. Parents need the support. All babies’ births should be celebrated.”