UPPER MACUNGIE TWP., Pa. — Dozens of former patients of Lehigh Valley Health Network’s Neonatal Intensive Care reunited with their prior caregivers Sunday at Lone Lane Park.
Every fall, a committee of NICU nurses invites the prior year’s “graduates” and their families to a reunion.
There are games, face painting and a bounce house for the kids, but the main draw is a chance for parents to reconnect with caregivers who helped see them through their child’s turbulent first few weeks of life.
In turn, the doctors and nurses get to see their former patients growing from ailing newborns into toddlers.
“It's really wonderful getting to know the families in the perspective of you're caring for their baby, the most precious thing in their life. But then you also get to know them on a different level, just as people.”NCIU nurse Jillian Intelisano
Usually, the doctors and nurses don’t even recognize their former patients, said Jillian Intelisano, a NICU nurse who helped organize Sunday’s reunion.
“They’ve changed so much from being these little babies,” Intelisano said. “It’s just so nice to reconnect and see how wonderful they’re all doing.”
The nature of the NICU — an emotional crucible for parents combined with sometimes lengthy stays — means parents of a hospitalized child grow close with the doctors and nurses there.
“It's really wonderful getting to know the families in the perspective of you're caring for their baby, the most precious thing in their life,” Intelisano said.
"But then you also get to know them on a different level, just as people.”
'He gets to live the rest of his life'
When Megan Gabel-Zastko and Alex Zastko’s son Harrison was born more than two months pre-term, he ended up in LVHN’s neonatal unit.
Intelisano, who helped take care of him, said she remembers thinking how small he was, even by their standards.
Every day for 109 days, the couple would visit the NICU to spend time with their son. Zastko recalled the staff there taking care of all three of them.
“Even just sitting there with you, even talking about mundane things — it didn't matter. There just at least was somebody there who knew what you were going through. They kind of become your second family.”Megan Gabel-Zastko
“Even just sitting there with you, even talking about mundane things — it didn't matter," Gabel-Zastko said. "There just at least was somebody there who knew what you were going through.
“They kind of become your second family.”
Despite the joy of finally bringing Harrison home, she remembered a “bittersweet” note to leaving her “second family” behind.
Gabel-Zastko still stops by the hospital sometimes to say hello, and some of the staff recently attended Harrison’s first birthday party.
“They meant so much to us because, yes, he was only in there for the first days of his life," she said. "But because he was there and they cared for him, he gets to live the rest of his life.”
For Intelisano, moments such as seeing Harrison again at Sunday’s reunion are some of the best parts of the job.
Gabel-Zastko "is telling me that now he's taking his first steps and pulling up on the couch," Intelisano said. "Where when we saw him he was still learning about breathing and trying to eat.
“So it's just such a happy feeling seeing how well he’s doing.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: Lehigh Valley Health Network is a founding funder of LehighValleyNews.com. The donation has no influence on our editorial or business operations.
