You never know when the person you need the most is going to cross your path. A nurse at Franciscan Children’s hospital had always dreamed of being a mother when one day she caught the eyes of a baby girl who was all alone in the world. Their paths collided, though seemingly by chance, was just the thing they both needed to gain a family.
Liz Smith had always dreamed of being a mother.
Liz Smith, the Director of Nursing at Franciscan Hospital, had always wanted children and a family. Imagining, like many other women, that she would get married and have kids in her twenties. But life did not work out that way.
Desperately wanting to be a mother, she had pursued several unsuccessful rounds of IUI. When being told that her insurance would not cover IVF procedures, she thought her options had ended and that she would never get to be a mother. But then, Liz met a little baby who would change her life forever.
Baby Giselle had been in the hospital for five months with no visitors.
Giselle was born weighing only 1 lb 14 oz and was a ward of the state. She suffered from neonatal abstinence syndrome, a condition in which babies have to withdraw from drugs such as heroin after being exposed to them in the womb. She was also hesitant to eat due to an oral aversion and was falling behind developmentally.
When she was three months old, she was brought to the NICU at Franciscan Children’s Hospital where she was being treated for a lung condition where she stayed for another five months. Liz happened to be on shift one night when another nurse was wheeling Giselle through the hall.
Liz stopped the nurse and asked, “Who’s this beautiful angel?”
The nurse replied that her name was Giselle. The baby had been up for foster care for weeks, but the caseworker had been unable to find her a home. But that night, the little girl had touched Liz’s heart and she decided on a lifechanging event driving home that night.
“I’m going to foster this baby. I’m going to be her mother.”
Liz put in her paperwork as soon as she could and three weeks later, she received the news that she would be Giselle’s foster mom.
Liz adopted Giselle and now they’re the perfect family.
Liz and Giselle got along perfectly. Giselle started to pick back up developmentally and started saying her first words. When Giselle’s birth parents were deemed to be incapable of caring for her, and there was no one else in her family, Liz put in her application to adopt Giselle. Liz adopted Giselle in October of 2018 and now their family is complete.
“Her new favorite song is ‘You Are My Sunshine,’” Liz said, “And every time she sings it, I think to myself, ‘You have no idea.’”
Watch their heartwarming story below!
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Source: Franciscan Children’s
