It’s a little funny that there are people who make tremendous differences in our lives that we never speak to again when their job is done. People in the healthcare profession regularly save people’s lives and then, after we thank them, we’re likely to never see them again.
That’s why this story is so touching. A family appreciated the work of a NICU nurse so much, they asked her to be part of the family.
Good Morning America reports that when Austyn Evans was pregnant with her son Conrad, she and her husband, Branden, learned that he had a rare birth defect known as lower urinary tract obstructions. The defect can be life-threatening, so Austyn and Branden moved from Florida to Houston in her third trimester so she and Conrad could be cared for at Texas Children’s Hospital.
“It’s a very bad diagnosis to get,” Austyn told Good Morning America. “A lot of these kids do not survive past zero or they just survive a few days past birth.”
u201cBaby Conrad was born with a lot of medical complications and fell in love with the NICU nurse that helped save his life — so his mom asked her to be his godmother. u2764ufe0f https://t.co/JPY82QK76Bu201d— Good Morning America (@Good Morning America)
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As soon as Conrad was born he was rushed into the neonatal intensive care unit where he was cared for by Carly Miller, 27, a NICU nurse at the hospital.
“Carly was instantly charismatic and funny. She kept talking about how cute Conrad was,” Austyn told Today. “The way she talked to him when she was doing his vitals or she was taking blood, she was constantly talking to him in this really cute little mom voice and trying to be as comforting as she could even though he was extremely sedated.”
Conrad’s needs were so intense that he would often be Carly’s only patient. She regularly worked the night shift, so when Austyn would call, she’d hear about Conrad’s condition from Carly.
“She never started a phone call telling me all the bad. It was always, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s so cute,’ or, ‘All the nurses think he’s so cute,’ and then obviously I’d get the medical report,” Austyn told Good Morning America. “It was such a small thing but it helped immensely.”
The relationship meant the world to the Evans family because they were all alone in Texas.
“We were so isolated because of COVID and being away from our family,” Austyn told Today. “A relationship that was so professional over time became so personal to me.” When it came time for Conrad to be moved to a complex dialysis machine, Carly learned how to work it so she could remain by Conrad’s side.
After six months of round-the-clock care, Conrad was finally able to go home with his family. Even though the family had moved on to the next stage of their lives, they knew they couldn’t walk away from the woman who meant so much to them.
u201cShe Was There From The Night He Was Born: After 6 months in the NICU, parents ask son’s nurse to be his Godmother (u2018It feels like it was meant to be. It feels like weu2019ve known her forever.u2019) (A wonderful story about a wonderful nurse) https://t.co/wRKVCr8YYxu201d— Richard Patterson Jr (@Richard Patterson Jr)
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“We kept everything as professional as we could in the NICU but just the conversations we had sitting in his hospital room or the victories that we celebrated and we cried over together were really important to me,” Evans told Today. “Thinking about leaving that place and having to never see Carly again was heart-wrenching.”
To make it official, the couple gave Carly some flowers with a card from Conrad with a note attached that read, “Will you be my godmother?”
Carly said yes.
“I just feel very honored,” Carly told Good Morning America. “It’s something I never expected and the fact that they wanted me to do that for him means the absolute world.”