Most people are born only to never see or think about the doctor who delivered them again. Because we live in such a fast paced world, that's common in today's modern culture, but isn't it a bit odd that the person who worked the 2nd hardest to bring you into this world just disappears from your life?
Although health professionals hope for smooth, unremarkable pregnancies, there are often times when the pregnancy involves complications like a problem with the mother's health, or the unfortunate yet common situation of having a premature baby. These harrowing deliveries can leave an impact on the doctor, even if you never see them again.
This story proves just how memorable certain deliveries can be for the doctors and nurses who perform them. When a young man began working at Lucile Packard Children's hospital, no one would expect that he'd be working with the very nurse that helped care for him thirty years prior in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Nurse Vilma Wong works at the Lucile Packard Children's hospital in Palo Alto, California. She has worked there for 32 years, and in that time she has helped many children enter this world. One of those children was a young baby who was born premature weighing 2 pounds and 6 ounces at only 29 weeks. Vilma Wong spent 40 days with the baby inside of the neonatal intensive care unit, growing quite the bond with the child.
Thirty years later Vilma Wong would get the shock of her life when a new doctor joined the staff, Doctor Brandon Seminatore. She instantly recognized his name, but she couldn't quite figure out where she might have known it from. Seminatore told TODAY, "Vilma walked up to me when she saw my name tag. You could see it jogged something in her mind."
Vilma Wong continued to think about where she might know him from. It took both of them to finally figure it out. "She asked me if I grew up in this area. I said, 'Yes, I was actually born in this hospital." That's when the gears really started to turn for Vilma Wong. "She furrowed her brow. Then she asked if my dad was a cop. I said, 'He's retired now, but, yes, he used to be one." That was enough information for Vilma Wong to put it together.
Dr Seminatore also started to piece it together based on a story his mother had told him about the week before he began working at the hospital. According to Dr. Seminatore, his mother told him, "'Look for Vilma. She was our favorite nurse. She took care of you.'"
Dr. Seminatore's father still had a photo of Vilma holding him as a baby, which he texted after Brandon told his parents the news. Of course, he had to show it to Vilma. He told TODAY, "I showed Vilma the picture and she lit up. In the end I didn't have to look for Vilma. She found me. We smiled that whole day."
Once the local Mercury News caught wind of the story, the hospital's Facebook account blew up. One commenter sums it all up best with: "the world needs more Vilmas." She told TODAY, "I took care of this patient, and now he's treating patients he was a part of. What are the chances? It all came full circle. Working next to a patient I cared for is the best reward a nurse could get.
