EVERY YEAR, NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNITS OR NICU PROVIDE CRITICAL AND OFTEN LIFESAVING CARE TO OVER 300,000 BABIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. TODAY, SOME CENTRAL IOWA NICU SURVIVORS AND NURSES GATHERED TOGETHER FOR A REUNION. KCCI’S ALYSSA GOMEZ SHOWS US WHY THIS CELEBRATION MEANS SO MUCH TO EVERYONE INVOLVED HERE AT THE VALLEY COMMUNITY CENTER. SOME KIDS ARE HAVING THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, REUNITING WITH SOME OF THE SPECIAL PEOPLE THAT GOT THEIR FAMILIES THROUGH THE HARDEST DAYS OF THEIR LIVES. A DAY FILLED WITH FUN AND PLAY MEANS A LITTLE MORE FOR THESE KIDS BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH THEY MAY NOT KNOW IT, THEY’RE FIGHTERS. FIGHTERS LIKE CASE HE WEIGHED A POUND, THREE OUNCES. UM, HE WAS IN THERE FOR 110 DAYS. LIKE EVERYONE HERE TODAY, CASS AND HIS FAMILY HAVE SPENT A GOOD AMOUNT OF TIME IN THE MERCYONE MICU EACH DAY, FILLED WITH QUESTIONS, JUST NOT KNOWING IF YOUR BABY IS GOING TO SURVIVE. CASE WAS BORN AT 25 WEEKS OLD DURING THE PANDEMIC, WITH SO MANY RESTRICTIONS, KATIE AND BRANT TURNED TO TOTAL STRANGERS FOR SUPPORT. THE NURSES AND THE OTHER FAMILIES KIND OF BECAME OUR COMMUNITY. THEY’RE A FAMILY LIKE THEY WE RECONNECTED AND WE HAD WE SHARED A BOND THAT YOU JUST YOU DON’T GET ANYWHERE ELSE, A BOND THAT ONLY THE OTHER PEOPLE IN THE NICU UNIT UNDERSTAND. PEOPLE FROM THE OUTSIDE DON’T KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO BE IN THE NICU. MARY BETH IS A NICU NURSE AT MERCYONE FOR THE FAMILIES SHE SERVES. SHE KNOWS WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE IN THEIR SHOES. I HAD ACTUALLY HAD A SON WHO WAS A 30 WEEKER AND THAT IS WHAT THE NURSES SAID. OH, COME WORK WITH US. COME, COME WORK HERE. I’M LIKE, OH NO WAY, NO WAY. AND THEN I WENT HOME AND MY HUSBAND, I TOLD HIM, I’M LIKE, THAT’S WHERE I’M SUPPOSED TO WORK. SHE’S NOW WORKED THERE FOR 36 YEARS, SO I FEEL LIKE IT’S A CALLING. AND I FEEL LIKE ALL OF MY COWORKERS WOULD SAY THE SAME THING. WE LOVE WHAT WE DO. WE LOVE OUR FAMILIES. WE LOVE OUR BABIES THAT LOVE RADIATED THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY CENTER TODAY AS KIDS JUMPED IN A BOUNCY HOUSES GOT TATTOOS, AND EVEN TOOK FLIGHTS IN THE MERCY. ONE HELICOPTER. IT JUST IT’S OVERWHELMING JOY. AND WHILE MEETING YOUR FAVORITE DISNEY PRINCESS, IT’S PRETTY COOL. MANY OPTED FOR A HUG FROM THEIR FAVORITE NICU NURSE INSTEAD. IT’S SO GREAT. IT’S SO GREAT TO SEE THE FAMILIES AND HUG THEM AND JUST KNOW THAT THAT YOU GOT TO BE A SMALL PIECE OF THAT PUZZLE IN THEIR LIFE.
NICU babies and families reunite with nurses
“It’s overwhelming joy,” said a NICU nurse, describing what it’s like to reunite with babies and families nurses have cared for.
Updated: 10:13 PM CDT Jul 2, 2024
On the pavement outside Valley Community Center, a sidewalk chalk mural reading “Welcome NICU grads!” in big, colorful letters welcomed families from across Iowa. As they walked through the doors, familiar faces greeted them — the nurses of the MercyOne neonatal intensive care unit in West Des Moines, Iowa. The annual event is an opportunity for kids and their parents to reconnect with the nurses who stood by their side in some of the most difficult times. “They’re a family, we connected, and we shared a bond that you just don’t get anywhere else,” said Katie Hevelka. Katie and her husband Brent welcomed their son Case into the world during the pandemic.Case arrived at just 25 weeks old, weighing 1 pound and 3 ounces. With so many restrictions, Katie and Brent couldn’t lean on their family, so they turned to total strangers. For 110 days, the first-time parents leaned on their nurses for support. “The nurses and the other families kind of became our community,” Katie said. They relied on that community for 110 days before finally being able to take baby Case home. Saturday’s event allowed them to reconnect with that team that they now call family. “It’s so great to see the families and hug them and just know that you got to be a small piece of that puzzle in their life,” said Maribeth Roemich. Roemich joined the MercyOne team after giving birth to her son 30 weeks early. Thirty-six years later, it’s still her calling because she knows firsthand what it’s like to be in the shoes of the families she serves. When asked how it feels to reunite with them, her answer was simple. “It’s overwhelming joy,” Roemich said.
On the pavement outside Valley Community Center, a sidewalk chalk mural reading “Welcome NICU grads!” in big, colorful letters welcomed families from across Iowa. As they walked through the doors, familiar faces greeted them — the nurses of the MercyOne neonatal intensive care unit in West Des Moines, Iowa.
The annual event is an opportunity for kids and their parents to reconnect with the nurses who stood by their side in some of the most difficult times.
“They’re a family, we connected, and we shared a bond that you just don’t get anywhere else,” said Katie Hevelka.
Katie and her husband Brent welcomed their son Case into the world during the pandemic.
Case arrived at just 25 weeks old, weighing 1 pound and 3 ounces. With so many restrictions, Katie and Brent couldn’t lean on their family, so they turned to total strangers.
For 110 days, the first-time parents leaned on their nurses for support.
“The nurses and the other families kind of became our community,” Katie said.
They relied on that community for 110 days before finally being able to take baby Case home.
Saturday’s event allowed them to reconnect with that team that they now call family.
“It’s so great to see the families and hug them and just know that you got to be a small piece of that puzzle in their life,” said Maribeth Roemich.
Roemich joined the MercyOne team after giving birth to her son 30 weeks early.
Thirty-six years later, it’s still her calling because she knows firsthand what it’s like to be in the shoes of the families she serves.
When asked how it feels to reunite with them, her answer was simple.
“It’s overwhelming joy,” Roemich said.
