CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Six nurses at Levine Children’s Hospital who all care for kids with heart defects have their own personal connection to their work.
"I have a VSD which is a hole in between the two ventricles," Jillian Reed shared.
"It was my senior year in high school [when] I had a heart arrhythmia," Kari Plant recalled.
"It's kind of unbelievable," Page Steadman said.
"It's pretty remarkable that we share this similar story because either someone has heart disease, or we have children who were born with heart disease and our team has taken care of those kids," Erika Wintering mentioned.
Steadman works with the pediatric heart transplant team. She was pregnant with her son Elliot when she learned he would be born with multiple heart issues.
"It’s a little bit of a blessing and a curse I think, before he was born, I would worry all the time," Steadman. "And I would take care of these patients and think, 'Oh my gosh, is this going to be my son?'"
"When you’re working in this field, that’s always in the back of your mind, what if this was my child that ends up on this side of the bed and is being taken care and has to go through this, and, all of a sudden, that happens," Katie Boeggeman admitted.
Katie’s son Mason was 10 days old when he needed heart surgery at the hospital where his mom works, and her colleagues cared for him.
"It was a surreal experience," Boeggeman said. "It was my family that was taking care of my son, and I was very at peace with that."
Lydia Palmer adopted Anna after she was placed in foster care as a newborn while awaiting heart surgery.
"Anna was 5 weeks old when I met her," Palmer recalled. "She was in the Intensive Care Unit. She'd come in with a new diagnosis of a congenital heart defect and needed surgery."
Their boss Erika Wintering, who works in the operating room has a similar story. With eight biological children at home, she and her husband are currently working to adopt their youngest--a 10-month-old who needs multiple heart surgeries.
"It's been an honor to take care of her as our daughter, and she’s given the gift back to us," Wintering said.
Both Reed and Plant were teenagers when they each had open heart surgery and say the experience still guides them today.
"The nurses that took care of me with the diagnosis and the nurses that took care of me in the hospital made me think, 'Maybe this is something I want to do,' and that was the pivotal moment," Plant said.
For Reed, she said there’s often an immediate bond with her patients when she shows them her scars.
"I think there’s a lot of relief, there’s usually an 'a-ha' moment and a connection with them at that time," Reed shared.
She said all of the women have unique connections with their patients.
"I think it's really special that we can band together as a group and understand what we've been through personally and be able to kind of bring that passion and experience together to be able to help other families as a team," Reed admitted.
"I think having a child with a congenital heart disease ... but also having people who have gone through it can really relate to the patients at the bedside or the families or the staff and what they’re going through," Wintering said. "We care for these kids in a very personal manner, and it shines through. It's pretty special. I'm going to tear up. I would say this is a team that goes beyond."
Contact Michelle Boudin at mboudin@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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