A set of baby boy twins was born, H and M. H was born with a life threatening condition that caused him to be put on ECMO within hours after birth. He had a rough course but his family came to visit often, bringingM with them. Danielle took care of H many nights and became quite close to the family, as did many others. One night, when the boys were 11 days old, the family was visiting and M was very fussy and difficult to console. Spontaneously, Danielle laid M on H's chest, letting the boys be together again. M broke into a big smile. Mom captured the moment on camera and then posted it on Facebook. The picture went viral. Many around the world were saddened to learn days later that H had passed, but not before he and M had a number of times together. Danielle says that she knew, in that moment, that it was the right thing to do even though she was a little worried about breaking the rules. In my mind, she was able to figure out the most important, human thing to do. This picture will bring joy not only to the family but to all of those who went beyond themselves to provide the kind of care we would all want if it was us. The whole NICU team did its best, most amazing work with this family. Thanks to Danielle, they will all have something sweet to look back on when the pain that sometimes comes with caring so much subsides.
http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/thousands-mourn-death-viral-hugging-twins/story?id=41914673