More Than a Job: NICU Nurses Make All the Difference for One Family

 Baptist Health Hardin regularly shares photos of its NICU graduates on Facebook. The faces of babies and families from across the region change from post to post, though each expresses similar signs of celebration and relief, marking the end of a journey few hope to take. Beneath one of those photos, Eli Kornmiller took the time to explain what the moment meant to his family. 

“We’ll never forget our incredible NICU nurses,” he wrote. “You can’t put a price on the peace of mind it gave us to know how loved he was and how well he was treated.” 

The photo showed Eli, his wife, Maycie, and their son, Westley, on the day he graduated from the NICU after 30 days of care. The baby arrived at 34 weeks after Maycie developed superimposed preeclampsia. Weighing 4 pounds, 4 ounces, he was placed on her chest only briefly before being taken to the NICU. 

“I was on a lot of medicine, but I was freaking out because when they put him on me, he wasn’t crying or making any noise,” Maycie remembered. “That was all I could think about.” 

From that moment forward, much of Maycie and Eli’s life revolved around the NICU. They focused on care times, feeding goals, weight checks and how they could help Westley become strong enough to go home. 

Each step of the way, they had support. 

“All of the nurses were so nice,” Maycie said. “We never felt nervous when we had to leave him with them because they all loved him.” 

Whenever Maycie and Eli entered the NICU and began washing their hands in preparation to visit their son, nurses would approach them, ask how they were doing and share the latest update on Westley. 

“We looked forward to it,” Eli said. “We would go back there, and everybody just kind of showered us with support and love and made us feel welcome.” 

When the couple no longer had access to an overnight room and needed to make the drive home to nearby Clarkson between visits, they worried about missing a care time, particularly one scheduled in the middle of the night. The nurses encouraged them to rest and assured them that Westley would be well cared for in their absence. 

For young, first-time parents, comfort meant everything. 

“They said, ‘You guys need to get all the rest you can. You’re great for coming as much as you can, but don’t feel like you’re bad parents if you miss,’” Eli recalled. 

The AngelEye camera allowed Maycie and Eli to check on Westley from home, and his nurses found small, personal ways to make sure they still felt involved. They placed handwritten updates where his parents could see them through the camera, celebrating a new feeding record or explaining that Westley was away from his usual spot because he was “snuggling with the nurses” at their station. 

“You could tell that they really loved him,” Eli said. “We knew the whole time that he was in good hands. It wasn’t easy, obviously, but it would have been so much more difficult if the nurses hadn’t been so great to us.” 

Feeding was one of Westley’s greatest hurdles, and there were days when Maycie and Eli wondered when he would finally be ready to leave. His nurses encouraged them to be patient, explaining that progress could happen suddenly, almost like a light switch. 

Then, one day, Westley finished an entire bottle. He soon began finishing his feedings consistently, and about a week later, he was ready to leave. 

By then, he had grown to 6 pounds, 7 ounces. 

More than a month removed from the NICU, Westley is home, continuing to grow and giving his parents plenty of reasons to marvel at how far he has come in such a short time. A handwritten note remains on the family’s refrigerator – a reminder of Westley’s beginning and the caregivers who helped their family reach the other side of those 30 days.  

“His nurse wrote it thanking us for letting her take care of him," Maycie explained.  
She wanted us to know how excited she was that we were finally getting to take him home.” 

Every NICU graduation illustrates why continued donor support matters. Families rarely know in advance that they will need this level of care, but donor generosity helps ensure the specialized resources, technology and supportive environment are ready when they do. That support strengthens the work of dedicated caregivers whose impact families see and feel – in every reassuring update, every milestone celebrated and every moment their baby is loved in their absence. 

“When I go to work, it’s just a job, and my life is at home,” Eli said. “But it never felt like our nurses were just showing up to work and going home. It wasn’t like this was just a job to them. They wanted to be there, and every day they made us feel like it was their pleasure to take care of our son.”