Here is the article that was about Faith and the Daisy Award winner Nikole Kessler. This was when Faith Marie was 3 months old. Yes, I’m late with it.
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We are truly privileged to congratulate our most recent DAISY Foundation winner: Nikole Kessler, RN, of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at PH DuBois. Nikole helped to care for infant Faith Marie Spicher, who was born with Trisomy 18. Many babies born with this chromosomal condition do not live beyond their first few days or weeks of life. Faith, however, grew strong enough in the NICU that she was able to be discharged and go home with her parents. This week, Faith turned 3 months old. We are honored to share the beautiful words of Faith’s mother, Brandi, who describes the experience and how Nikole went above and beyond in caring for Faith during her time in the NICU:
“Faith Marie Spicher was born on Jan. 15, 2019. She was diagnosed with Trisomy 18, incompatible with life. We knew that Faith would be cared for at the NICU after she was born due to her diagnosis. What we didn’t know was how much she would be loved and cared for by the staff.
Faith was placed on a ventilator by Jan. 17, 2019, due to episodes of apnea, and had more wires, tubes and monitors than could be imagined. It was hard to deal with; it was difficult to see our baby going through so much. But what wasn’t difficult to see was the compassion and love she received from the nurses and also the huge impact that this small life had on them as well as us. We will never forget the NICU nurses and all the memories we had with them. They will always be a part of our family and we are forever grateful for them.
Nikole Kessler cared for Faith through the best times and hardest times. She laughed with us, celebrated with us and even cried with us. She was able to look past all the wires and tubes and only saw Faith. You could see a connection growing between the two. She not only took care of Faith as a nurse, she cared for Faith as if she were her own. She wasn’t afraid of Faith’s condition, as a matter of fact she took it on as a challenge; Faith would beat the odds and be her “feisty spice.” She made sure that Faith received the best care and all the snuggles she could give.
Nikole walked with us hand in hand through Faith’s entire journey in the NICU. On Jan. 19, 2019, Deryk and I had to make a heartbreaking decision to discontinue the ventilator. We couldn’t have our baby live on a vent for the rest of her days. Nikole stayed with us, even off duty, through that difficult time. She took a turn holding her and cried right with us as we thought Faith’s time here on Earth was over. Nikole even handmade a wooden plaque for this day, “Too Beautiful for Earth, Faith.” As the minutes turned to hours and Faith amazed us all with desire to live, breathing on her own, Nikole shared in our tears as they turned from heartache to tears of joy and hope.
The following day, Nikole checked on Faith as soon as she came into the NICU to make sure she made it through the night. She kept us updated through her entire shift and shared in our joy and relief as she continued to report that Faith’s vitals were stable and she was not having any episodes of apnea.
Nikole made sure we didn’t miss any special moments. She carried the camera in her pocket and was quick to capture every significant second – the first time we fed our baby through her og tube, her first outfit, first bath. She filled two photo books and ran the printer out of paper just so we had every memory of the beginning and, what we thought, would be the end of Faith’s life.
Nikole continued to be there for Faith even on her days off of work. She made the trip into the hospital and spent hours with Faith just to hold her.
Finally, the day came when Deryk and I were able to take Faith home and Nikole was there to do her discharge. There wasn’t a dry eye in the NICU, especially Nikole’s. She even escorted Faith out of the hospital just so she could soak up every last moment with her.
To this day, Nikole continues to be a part of Faith’s life, keeping up with her and all of her firsts and celebrating with us every time Faith defies the odds. Nikole is more than the NICU nurse that cared for our baby, she is part of our family and we know Nikole will forever be a part of her life as long as Faith is with us on this earth.”
Please join us in thanking Nikole. We are so proud of her heartfelt dedication to caring for our littlest patients! Follow the link to read the very touching words Brandi wrote about the other members of Faith’s NICU nursing team as she said she wanted to recognize each person that was there fighting for Faith, caring for her and, most of all, loving her! http://bit.ly/Baby-Faiths-Story
As told by her mother Brandi...
So many of you have been wondering how Faith is doing. Thank you all for your thoughts prayers and support through this journey. Faith had a rough start since being brought into this world and been through more than most adults. She was born full term via c section due to being breech. Her head was under my ribs and she wouldn’t turn. When she came out she did pretty well Tuesday then on Wednesday she started having episodes of apnea. Her brain wasn’t sending signals to her lungs to breathe. She was put on a cpap then by Thursday she was placed on a ventilator. Friday we were told that she has trisomy 18, Edwards Syndrome which is a rare chromosomal defect. There is no cure, no fix, it just is. These babies have short life spans. They are lucky if they live past the first 6-9days of life.
By Saturday the ventilator was doing all the breathing for her and Deryk and I had to make a heart breaking decision. That’s not a life living on a vent for the rest of her days.
But our little girl wasn’t done fighting yet, she was not done living! The vent was discontinued, she opened her eyes and breathed! She was placed on monitors to track her oxygen, heart rate and respiration’s. We waited another week to see how she would do. No more episodes of apnea! We went through a week of education and learning how to care for once she came home. Our hope was restored! She would come home! Our Faith is now 2 weeks old and defying the odds! Our Faith is a true testimony that there is power in prayer! ❤️
I also have to say that the staff at Penn Highlands DuBois NICU and maternity are amazing people! We couldn’t have gotten this far without them! They went above and beyond their call of duty and made whatever accommodations for Faith, us and our family. They have been a God send for us and we are forever grateful to them. 💝
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