Madeleine, a recent graduate of the University of Mary, has begun work as a nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), caring for premature babies and sick newborns. Probing her with a few questions about her desires and mission proved to bring out another aspect of healthcare that goes beyond simply taking care of the physical needs of a patient. Madeleine says her mission as a NICU nurse is to take care of the babies, help them grow, help them feel loved, and care for their families.
Since she was in 7th grade, Madeleine aspired to care for babies as a nurse in the NICU. She prepared for this mission by not only nurturing her desire to work in the field, but also by undergoing rigorous training to do so. It was certainly an uphill battle to get here. As a 7th grader, she couldn’t have anticipated the difficulties she would face in nursing school. When asked what helped her get through school, Madeleine said “Honestly, knowing my education was going to pay off in the end, and that I was going to be able to care for families in this way, by taking care of their fresh newborns who are sick.”
The NICU has the capacity to care for babies born as early as 24 weeks gestation, but at that stage, there’s no guarantee that they’ll survive. Madeleine commented, “It definitely plays with your heart a lot because you can easily fall in love with these babies by taking care of them and being with their families, and then you could come back and they aren’t alive.” Taking a Mother Teresa approach to her work, Madeleine pours out not just care but love on her patients and their families. When asked why she allows herself to continuously fall in love with the patients and their families, knowing the possibility of her heart getting broken, Madeleine responded, “I’ve always been told that nurses are the hands of Christ. You’re constantly providing care and love to patients, as Christ would. So, by giving your heart to them, giving your all to help them survive, that makes your heart love them even more. You fall in love with the families and their stories in getting to know them—it’s just beautiful. How can your heart not fall in love with them?”
By pursuing and engaging in what she believes to be her mission as a NICU nurse, Madeleine exemplifies that there is certainly more to nursing than just practicing the technical skills. When asked how her mission is unique to her, given there are many NICU nurses all over the world, Madeleine said, “With a Catholic education growing up and in college, you learn more of the aspect of the human soul and you know how much dignity even a tiny baby can have—that pro-life aspect of ‘everyone’s a human from conception to natural death.’ Yeah, that baby’s only 24 weeks old, but you know that they are a human and that they are fully known and fully loved. That brings on a different aspect for nursing, in knowing that.”
In sum, Madeleine’s mission involves her preaching the Gospel through her actions, not her words. She may not be working for a formal mission organization, but her clear mission remains: to care for and love those in front of her, with the hands and heart of Jesus Christ. Madeleine has already had her heart stolen by many babies and families at the hospital that employs her, but she leaves a lasting impression on them as well, with her joyful light that she brings to everyone she encounters.