A Tiny Miracle

 Time goes swiftly, it has been six months since I entered the Paediatric/Neonatal intensive care unit (PNICU). Most people may think this is a sad and mystery place. However, I think this place is filled with challenges, love and hope. I would like to share a story of my patient showing the instinct of love between parent and their little fighter.

Premature baby in the incubator receiving photo therapy 

An extreme preterm baby boy who was born at 23 weeks gestation weighting 500 grams was transferred to our ward due to necrotizing enterocolitis. Similar to the script of most preterm baby, he also got the patent ductus arteriosus(PDA), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and Intraventricular haemorrhage(IVH) which required a series of correctional surgery. Although knowing the vague prognosis that the baby might leave us at any time, his parent still hoped us to make the greatest effort saving their son. 

As time goes by, this tiny baby walked through major surgeries one by one. I could feel the strong vitality of this fighter and the faith in parent. I remembered how joyful the mother was when she held the baby for the first time. Miraculously, this little boy's condition went more stable and gaining weight from 500 grams to become the biggest baby in our NICU with a cute double chin.   

Treating my patient as my child is the attitude I hold for a long time in my work. Different from general ward, parent in NICU might only able to watch their baby anchored with numerous infusion lines and life supporting machine through a tiny window of incubator. As a paediatric nurse, I picked up the role of parent to take the best care of their precious baby. In contrast to what most people's thinking that patients in ICU setting can hardly escape from death, I have seen many patients defeated the battle and grown up strongly. There will always be challenges for a new graduate working in PNICU, but I will keep working hard and appreciate the goodness of life.