ROANOKE, Va. – For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, a special “graduation party” was held at Carilion Clinic Children’s in Roanoke for children who were born in their Neonatal Intensive Care Unit - or NICU for short.
Over 400 families attended the two-hour event as families whose children were born from 2021 to 2023 gathered for the event.
One such family was the Mills family. Their twin daughters, Georgia and Hazel, were in the NICU for over a week and a half after being born.
“This little one [Georgia] stayed in here a little bit longer at 14 days, Hazel came out a little bit sooner she was in there for 10 days, Kirsten Mills said. ”Although it was pretty hard leaving one and taking the other we knew we were in good hands.”
Brynn Farino - born to Megan and Anthony - was in a NICU for 107 days, but is still going strong to this day.
“We definitely had nights where we got phone calls and we weren’t sure if she was going to make it or not,” Anthony Farino said. “She gave everyone in the NICU a scare but we’re home now, she’s healthy and she’s been a fighter since she was born.”
Having a baby put in a NICU unit is, as Carilion RN Rachel Russell describes, can be the worst moment of a parent’s life, but seeing the kids happy and healthy is overwhelmingly rewarding.
“We are the family they never, ever want to have. So we see these babies, we support these families and then we get to see our absolute best success stories come back to us on a day like today,” Russell said. “It makes our job worthwhile for every extra shift, every bad shift, we get these little ones running around like crazy and it means everything to us.”
While Russel says they are the family some never want to have, those like Tricia and Hannah Pietravalle, say otherwise.
“Those nurses really became like family to us. Now two years later they come and celebrate every birthday, they come to her birthday parties and celebrate with her so it’s really nice to stay connected.”