Pediatric ICU nurse adopts patient with rare disorder - East Idaho News
Health

Pediatric ICU nurse adopts patient with rare disorder

  Published at  | Updated at

NEW MEXICO — When a pediatric ICU nurse took over the care of a very sick infant, she didn’t realize the baby girl would eventually become her daughter.

Amber Boyd met little Nicole when the baby was just 3 months old. The baby suffered from a rare birth defect called omphalocele — meaning her organs developed in a sack outside of her belly, according to Today. Because of her condition, the baby required heavy sedation, a ventilator and a breathing tube to keep her alive.

To make matters worse, the baby was fighting the battle alone — Nicole’s birth mother’s parental rights were terminated.

Boyd told Today she bonded with the baby from day one. She requested the role of Nicole’s primary nurse, which she was granted, Today reports. For 18 months, Boyd watched over Nicole as the medical team worked to keep her alive.

“She is just a fighter,” Boyd said. “She is just a great kid.”

As Nicole’s condition improved, her future remained uncertain. With her birth parents out of the picture and her biological family unable to care for her, Nicole didn’t have any kind of home waiting for her.

So Boyd decided to extend her duties beyond the ICU — applying to become Nicole’s foster mother.

“I don’t think I was surprised at all, honestly,” Boyd’s husband, Taylor Boyd, told Today. “It is very much in her nature… she does everything she can to be selfless.”

When the day finally came for the Boyds to take Nicole home, the little girl still required constant medical attention. The little girl still has a trach, and has undergone 13 surgeries so far, Today reports.

But over the course of the next 18 months, Nicole made strides no one ever dreamed she’d make.

“She’s incredible,” Boyd said. “She has learned in one short year… to crawl, stand and walk.”

Taylor Boyd told Today those developmental milestones were even more remarkable considering the core muscles required for sitting and standing weren’t even attached when Nicole first mastered each task.

In February, Nicole became a permanent member of the Boyd family when Amber and Taylor officially adopted her.

“It is like a perfect fit,” Boyd said. “I don’t know how to explain it, it was just right.”

Doctors expect to be able to remove Nicole’s trach and feeding tube soon and don’t expect the now-3-year-old to have any permanent brain damage, Today reports.

beacon?cid=381983&pid=216

SUBMIT A CORRECTION