A Scrapbook Made of Love
The bond between a parent and newborn in the first days of life is a magical one. Recently an infant was born prematurely at EMMC with a syndrome that will likely affect growth and development his entire life. To add an additional layer of sadness, his mother made the selfless decision to place the baby for adoption as she recognized she was unable to care for a child.
Given the baby’s physical challenges, a lengthy stay in the NICU was anticipated without a nurturing parent present. Jennie Ellis, RN, immediately volunteered to be the baby's primary nurse. She gave the newborn the consistency and nurturing vital to maximizing his development. He is learning trust and reciprocity because of her actions. Still, Jennie could not avoid the thought that this baby's future "forever family" would never have the chance to see the initial "baby steps" that formed his first weeks of life. She began a scrapbook diary for her charge. The scrapbook includes the tiny things a mom would include as she built her newborn's baby book – his birth announcement, first bath, foot prints – it’s all there. She continued to add pages throughout the baby’s stay in the NICU. Jennie’s hope is to give this scrapbook to this precious patient's new family to foster a great new beginning. The scrapbook will be a bridge between past and future for this child and his future family – a key to help the family understand his journey.
For her concern for her patient and creative solutions Jennie Ellis’ coworkers have awarded her a Splash, EMMC’s highest service award, for going above and beyond in the delivery of our mission to care for patients, families, communities, and one another.