Nurses are angels on earth. They comfort the heartbroken; they nourish the sick; they hold the hands of the dying.
Their job is not one for the faint of heart.
There are nursing specialties that are full of emotional moments.
The medical professionals who work in hospice, oncology and the NICU are among those who must be exceptionally strong to face what they do every day as lives hang in the balance.
Claire Mills has worked in the neonatal intensive care unit for a few years at a Texas hospital.
Claire was born prematurely, which compelled her to become a pediatric nurse in an intensive care unit, caring for the babies who need the most help just to survive.
The 25-year-old has seen moments of joy and heartbreak both in her department.
Some babies arrive with a fighting chance and eventually, they go home with ecstatic parents.
Some NICU babies never leave her department and never go home with their parents.
“It’s not normal to see something that’s supposed to be happy turn out to be so bad.”
One day, Claire was working her 12-hour shift when Baby Jackson was whisked into her department.
He had arrived five weeks early and weighed only three pounds and 10 ounces. It was love at first sight for Claire, she told Inside Edition.
“It was an instant connection I felt with him.”
Because Jackson’s mother was in medical distress and underwent an emergency cesarean section, Claire spent considerable time feeding Jackson, caring for him, rocking him and falling in love with him.
She and Jackson bonded quite tightly those first few weeks of his life.
Claire knew that Jackson’s mom was struggling with her new role and with life in general.
Claire felt compassion for her and reached out, offering to help however she needed it.
She also assisted the child protective services social worker assigned to Jackson’s case.
One day, Claire arrived at work to discover that Jackson and his mom had been discharged while she was off duty.
She had looked forward to seeing her favorite little dude and was crushed.
She called the social worker and reiterated that she would help Jackson and his mom however she could.
It was as if a piece of her heart had been given away.
Imagine how shocked Claire was when Jackson’s mom called her directly. She told Claire that she just couldn’t give Jackson the life he deserved. So would Claire?
“She had heard about how connected I felt to him, how I was so upset with his discharge.”
Claire owned her home, so she had room for Jackson. But what about her crazy 12-hour shifts? What about being 25 and single? Could she do this?
“I really felt like this was a sign from God.”
She asked her mom what she thought about her adopting Jackson. She fretted that her mom would think it was a bad idea, since she would be parenting Jackson by herself — with help from her parents, of course.
“She was immediately ecstatic.”
In fact, her mom gave Claire a baby crib that her own siblings had used.
As Claire prepared for her new journey to motherhood, someone suggested maybe she could be a foster parent to Jackson instead of adopting him.
“I just felt like fostering wasn’t permanent because I didn’t want to give him up.”
Claire brought Jackson home in June. It was rough making the switch from singledom to single mom at first, but it’s been worth it in the end.
“I work with babies but it’s very different working 12-hour shifts then coming home to care for him. The first week was a lot of crying. I felt like I was crying every day.”
While Claire works four 12-hour shifts each week, Jackson spends quality time with his grandma, Claire’s mom. And at four months old, Jackson is in perfect health, Claire said.
“He’s so happy. He’s so pleasant. I can’t remember what my routine was like before him.”
In fact, Jackson has thrived in Claire’s care, gaining weight and meeting milestones, she said.
Watch their wonderful story unfold in the video below!
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