The baby girl, H, was born at only 26 weeks and was admitted immediately to the NICU right after her birth. She spent the first 100 days of her life there. One nurse, Pan Lili, BSN, RN, made a picture book to celebrate her discharge, recording the 100 days of H fighting to live. The beautiful paper cuts in the picture book made by Ms. Pan represent the best wishes for a smooth future with no more cruelty in her life.
Initially, H's mom, Ms. T was pregnant with twins. Life-threatening problems arose as her physical condition changed and the twins were in danger of early abortion at the 20th week of pregnancy. Eventually, at 26 weeks of pregnancy, Ms. T had to undergo a C-section to give birth to the twins. One of the twins did not make it due to the maldevelopment of the heart, but H was admitted to the NICU right after birth. Before the little girl could breathe on her own, she endured 11 days with direct ventilator support, 48 days with non-invasive ventilator and eight days of high-volume oxygen support. In addition, she was subjected to more than 70 medical tests in the first 100 days of her life. H finally had the strength to independently take in milk after 86 days of treatment in NICU.
At our hospital, there is a wall between the NICU and the waiting area. On one side of this wall lie the weak babies fighting to live and on the other side sit the anxious parents praying for their babies' survival. H's mom admitted that when she knew one of her twin girls had died, she started to break. The only thing she could do was cry with her eyes staring up at the ceiling and tears rolling down her face. She was full of self-recriminations for the early birth and she blamed herself of bringing little H into a world so full of pain. There was nothing she could do to protect her baby. At birth, H's weight was only 1050g. Her skin was dark, and she was so small, only the size of a man's hand. The loss of one baby and the appearance of the other were devastating for H's mom. Even with the help from family members, she could not do anything to save her babies. At that very moment, a nurse came there and cried with her, sharing the pain. Ms. T later learned that this nurse was Ms. Pan Lili, a new nurse of the NICU. Ms. T said she couldn't remember what the nurse said, but she will never forget how the nurse made her feel, that the nurses understood her pain, but that there was still hope. Then she realized that her mood might affect her milk supply. She had to be strong for her baby, the already miserable little H. Ms. T stopped crying and started to eat, believing that one day her baby would need nourishment from her mom.
At first, Ms. T and her husband could visit little H only once a week due to the weakness of the baby's condition. Ms. T said each time she visited, the doctors and nurses would comfort her and support her instead of just delivering bad news. She remembered how warm she felt when Ms. Pan Lili, the primary nurse, gave her H's picture and daily updates on how much milk H took in each day.
Ms. T was taught that before pumping and collecting her milk she needed to sterilize her hands each time. After a few weeks, she found her hands were dry and rough. This caused her to disbelieve that the RNs in the NICU washed their hands before touching each kid as the nurses were so busy. They needed to do rounds every half hour, document vital signs every hour, feed the babies every two hours and regularly check IVs and diapers. Ms. T started to observe the RNs in the NICU and found each and every time before they touched any child, they would thoroughly sterilize their hands. Ms. T was ashamed that she had doubted them, and she was deeply touched by the cautious diligence of all the RNs. She also found that Ms. Pan would talk to her little H before each procedure began.
Before she knew it, little H gained weight and became a strong girl of 4 kg which meant she was ready to be discharged. Ms. T wanted to thank the nurses in the NICU for the wonderful and professional care they gave H and herself, too. She made little blankets for each staff in the NICU and gave a "thank you" card for each one.
Pan Lili, the new NICU RN, was full of both happy and sad emotions when it was time little H to go home. She wanted to make something special to remember the time and to wish H a painless life from that day forward. Pan Lili made a special picture book, recording the first 100 days of H's life. She made some paper cuts of rabbits, having dinner together in the book, representing her best wishes for little H.
We all were touched by the picture book Ms. Pan prepared. Working with her, we could feel her passion for life and the love she has for the little angels in her care. She brings warmth and confidence to the team as well as to the families.