Jason Stewart

In October, 2010 a family welcomed a baby girl. Although she looked healthy, she had what nurses thought initially to be an innocent heart murmur.  After a cardiology consult and echo, it turned out the baby girl had a serious heart condition.  The mother was in shock.  Instead of taking her daughter home, she was driving to LeBonheur where her daughter was being transported.

When the baby arrived at LeBonheur, her mother expressed anxiety over the tubes and monitors hooked up to her baby girl.  The mother was afraid to change, rock, comfort, feed, bathe her new daughter.  Jason was comforting to the baby’s mother by helping her do these things.  He showed the mother she could change her new baby’s diaper and how to wipe her daughter’s eyes with a warm cloth.  He talked with the mother and shared with her that he was born with a heart defect and was living a normal, healthy life.  Even though the baby’s mother was comforted by this, she was still anxious. He encouraged her to get some rest herself because she had been through so much and rest was important in healing and absorbing information that would be coming to her regarding her daughter’s care.

Jason noticed that his patient’s mother was jumping up at every move her daughter made and was not resting.  Knowing this, Jason made the decision to hold and rock the baby girl through the night, allowing her mother to be comforted and, ultimately, get the rest her body needed.