Mercy Springfield’s NICU reunion brings families back to meet caregivers
Patients bring gifts, memories to the doctors who treated them
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - Mercy Springfield’s NICU brought families back Sunday to see the people who cared for their children as babies.
The reunion let caregivers meet the children their patients have become.
A gift for the doctor
Seven-year-old Eleanor said she loves doing crafts. She brought a fairy sculpture she made for Dr. Amy Yen, who remembers caring for Eleanor when she was a very sick baby in the NICU.
“When I see my patients now growing and walking around and talking and interacting, it’s rewarding to get to see them come so far from where they began,” said Yen.
Wondering how they’re doing
NICU manager Kara Vinson said the visits answer a question the care team takes home with them: how are those children doing now?
“It’s not just a one and done here. We think about them after they go home and they graduate, and we wonder how they are,” said Vinson.
A mother’s path to nursing
For Melissa Pratte, that connection changed her life. Three of her children spent time in Mercy’s NICU.
Christian, the first of the three, was born at 30 weeks and ...