Title : Nurse adopts premature baby who had no hospital visitors while weaned off drugs exposed to in womb
link : Nurse adopts premature baby who had no hospital visitors while weaned off drugs exposed to in womb
Nurse adopts premature baby who had no hospital visitors while weaned off drugs exposed to in womb
'It felt like the right thing to do': Nurse adopts baby born prematurely to a drug-addicted mother after the little girl had no visitors for five months while being weaned off narcotics at hospital
- Liz Smith, 45, met Gisele when she eight months old at Franciscan Children's hospital in Massachusetts in 2016
- The director of nursing recalled seeing the 'angel' five months after she was transferred there for treatment related to neonatal abstinence syndrome
- Gisele spent three months in the NICU on a ventilator after her premature birth
- She was born at 29 weeks to drug addicted parents unfit to take care of her
- Smith wanted biological children but had been told she was not good for IVF
- She fostered Gisele April 2017 and by October the child walked at 15 months
- Smith was given go-ahead to adopt Gisele in October 2018 and praised by judge
A Massachusetts nurse was compelled to take on a hospital patient as her own after she noticed the newborn girl had no visitors while in treatment for neonatal abstinence syndrome.
Little girl Gisele was born at only 29 weeks in July 2016 and weighed just one pound and 14 ounces after her birth mother exposed her to addictive drugs in the womb.
Having spent three months in the NICU on a ventilator before she was transferred to Franciscan Children's hospital, it took another five months before Liz Smith even met her.
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Liz Smith, 45, adopt hospital patient Gisele in October 2018 and was praised by a judge
Now almost three, Gisele and Smith appeared on the TODAY show to talk about their story
'Who's this beautiful angel?' she recalled asking a nurse wheeling Gisele down the hall.
It came shortly after the director of nursing learned she was not a good candidate for IVF and despite her yearning to carry a baby herself, Smith opened up to the idea of taking on someone else's child.
After being able to take Gisele home in April 2017, the 45-year-old recalled feeling 'sick to her stomach' knowing that one day she'd have to let go of Gisele.
Smith met Gisele when she eight months old at Franciscan Children's hospital, Massachusetts
Gisele spent three months in neonatal Intensive care unit on a ventilator after premature birth
Both biological parents suffered from addiction and despite having weekly visiting rights while the child was in Smith's care but still hooked up to breathing tubes, they infrequently took up the chance to see their daughter.
'When I got the call that the parents' rights were terminated, I imagined that it would be a day of relief,' Smith said on the TODAY show.
'And it was a day I was really sad. I was really happy. But I was really sad for them. I was gaining her but they were losing her. And to try to battle addiction and being a mom, that's impossible.'
Gisele has had to undergo treatments related to her neonatal abstinence syndrome
Smith fostered little girl Gisele April 2017 and by that October the child walked at 15 months
Smith wanted biological children but had been told she was not a good candidate for IVF
Smith said in hindsight she can't believe she was so upset about possibly not being able to get pregnant.
By October 2017, Gisele was walking and had learned several words.
Last year a judge praised the single parent for going through the legal process to give Gisele a happy home.
Smith said Gisele had no visitors at a hospital in her first five months and her biological parents infrequently visited when she was handed into the nurse's care
Gisele still receives her nutrition through a supplemental feeding tube but has started eating some solid foods like cheese, pizza and avocados
'When a judge walks in the room, everyone stands out of respect,' the judge told her. 'But today I stand in respect for you, Liz, because you deserve the respect from this room. A birthing day is a miracle. But adopting a child from miles away is destiny. That's what brought you two together.'
Now almost three years old, Gisele still receives her nutrition through a supplemental feeding tube but has started eating some solid foods like cheese, pizza and avocados.
Smith, a middle child with two brothers and two sisters, was only 19 years old when she lost her own mother to liver cancer. Since then she has wanted to live a selfless life in memory of her late pediatric nurse parent who put great efforts into being a caretaker after her divorced when Smith was nine years old.
Smith's brother, Phil Smith, 44, told the Washington Post: 'This is the mother-daughter relationship my sister has waited a long time for. It's plain to see that they have brought a completeness to each other.'
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