On the day that people are sharing chocolate, flowers, and expressing love, we had great sadness on our unit. On Valentine's Day we had a baby pass away. The mother had been in the hospital for over 10 weeks in Antepartum to try and keep her baby inside. The fragile life of their baby was born at 29 week's gestation. The baby's lungs were too premature and his health was deteriorated within 24 hours of being born and he lost his battle. The "angel" charge nurse on that evening was Lois Schmerber. Lois attempted to contact the Chaplain on call to baptize the baby but due to unfortunate circumstances there was no one available to come immediately. The father shared with Lois that he was Lutheran and his pastor was also unavailable. Lois felt that the situation was dire and contacted her personal pastor who also happened to be Lutheran and he came immediately.
Lois had so much compassion for this family and wanted to meet their spiritual needs in any way humanly possible. Her pastor came and met with the family and counseled them and baptized their baby. He even offered to visit them again the next day and even after discharge if the family needed his council. Although the circumstances were any parent's worst nightmare, Lois was able to make a bad situation the best it could possibly be. Lois planted a memory for the parents of kindness, compassion, and thoughtfulness in their darkest moments. The stars were in alignment that Lois Schmerber was in charge this Valentine's Day at St. Alexius Medical Center NICU. Although the parents will forever remember this as the anniversary of the death of their child, without a doubt, they will never forget Nurse Lois and her expressions of love to their family.