Last March when Melody Akins learned that a recently born child at her hospital arrived with anomalies that were incompatible with life, it hit home.
“On the day that they delivered, my heart broke for them,” Akins said, “because I’ve gone through the heartbreak of losing a baby. I knew the pain that they were going to have to endure.”
Instead of admitting the baby in the NICU, the family chose to keep the child with them in the mother baby unit where Akins works.
After they were discharged and were receiving hospice care, Akins received a phone call asking if she knew of any nurses who would be willing to stay with the family at night.
Akins said she felt a strong urge to help them out. The parents of the newborn had not slept in several days and needed someone with a medical background to take care of the child while they slept. Akins helped put a plan together. She and another nurse agreed to alternate nights with the infant so the child’s parents could rest.
“We wanted them to be able to enjoy the short time that they had with their baby,” Akins said. So Akins stepped up to the front line, offering overnight hospice care for the child.
“The fear of losing a child is something that most parents probably experience at one time or another,” Akins’ manager Kelly Roach wrote in her Celebrating Nurses nomination letter, “but for this family, the loss was inevitable and fear weighed heavy on their hearts. Melody took time away from her family to offer comfort to a family who was in desperate need.”
Ironically, on the 8th anniversary of the loss of her own son, Akins received a message that the baby had passed away.
“The baby’s mom and I both feel that God allowed our paths to cross for a reason,” Akins said. “We’re still in contact and offering support for each other.”
