Jessica Huffman, MSN, RN, assistant vice president of clinical services at Wetzel County Hospital and director of nursing program development at Camden Clark Medical Center, recently celebrated a special occasion – the first birthday of her daughter, Eloise.
It was a joyous, memorable moment for the Huffman family, made even more unforgettable by the circumstances surrounding this beautiful child.
Jessica recalled her experience as a high-risk, pregnant mother on LinkedIn as a way to demonstrate how our personal and professional lives occasionally intersect.
“A little over a year ago, my water broke as I walked down the hall of a nursing unit while at work. I was only 32 weeks along,” Jessica wrote. “My amazing community hospital – Camden Clark Medical Center – quickly stabilized me and transferred me to our system flagship hospital, J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital, where I stayed for two weeks.
“I needed a high-risk maternal fetal medicine team while we anxiously waited in hopes that we could delay my delivery until a statistically safer milestone of 34 weeks. While in the hospital, it was discovered I had multiple, life-threatening blood clots in both of my lungs and also in my placenta – the baby’s lifeline. I’m so grateful for my healthcare team’s coordinated plan of care and the executed treatment that made it possible for both Eloise and I to be celebrating her first birthday together.”
But this story isn’t over quite yet. Just as a safeguard, Eloise remained in the NICU for a few days. At the same time, both of Jessica’s parents fell ill with COVID-19 and could not visit the newborn. However, the NICU at WVU Medicine Children’s has special webcams called NICView for each baby so that those far away could still see her.
“My father, sick at home, watched Eloise on the NICU webcam many hours of the day from home. He would send me texts and say how cute she was and described how bummed he was when the nurses had her off camera while she was getting assessed,” Jessica wrote.
Unfortunately, Jessica’s father never got to see Eloise in person, as he passed away before she was a month old. But Jessica is grateful for the technology that allowed him to see his granddaughter. She’s also very appreciative of the care she received – these memories will make every one of Eloise’s birthdays extra special!
“I’ve always had pride in my organization as a leader, but feel a lot different now that I’ve been on the other side as a patient,” Jessica wrote. “I’ll never forget the way I was treated and will be eternally thankful.”
WVU Medicine Children's Hospital is opening a new facility in Morgantown, WV in 2022. In their new NICU, has 40 NICView cameras to connect the littlest patients to their loved ones from afar. They need help raising money for 10 more cameras. The cameras have helped connect patients in every state in the USA except Wyoming and have gone beyond our borders internationally to ensure families can see their newest little family members while in the NICU.
In honor of Eloise Huffman and in memory of her grandpa, who she was only able to connect to via NICView camera before he passed, please make a gift today to give every NICU bay in the new Children's Hospital a webcam. |
