{"id":80581,"date":"2024-05-27T12:57:57","date_gmt":"2024-05-27T12:57:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/against-the-odds-hayley-goods-journey-from-premature-baby-to-nicu-nurse\/"},"modified":"2024-05-27T12:57:57","modified_gmt":"2024-05-27T12:57:57","slug":"against-the-odds-hayley-goods-journey-from-premature-baby-to-nicu-nurse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/against-the-odds-hayley-goods-journey-from-premature-baby-to-nicu-nurse\/","title":{"rendered":"Against the Odds: Hayley Good's Journey from Premature Baby to NICU Nurse"},"content":{"rendered":"
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CEDARVILLE, OHIO, May 27, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Hayley\u00a0Good was not expected to live\u00a0long. Born at just\u00a024\u00a0weeks\u00a0and\u00a0weighing one pound and nine ounces\u00a0at the OSU Wexner Medical Center, she\u00a0was\u00a0later moved to\u00a0the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at\u00a0Nationwide Children\u2019s Hospital\u00a0with little hope for survival.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The medical staff painted a grim picture for Good\u2019s parents. They learned that if\u00a0she\u00a0survived intubation and heart surgery,\u00a0her life expectancy would be short and filled with medical crises.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But God intervened in her young life.\u00a0Good survived the medical procedures and,\u00a0ultimately,\u00a0overcame\u00a0her\u00a0immense medical struggles.\u00a0After earning her degree in nursing from\u00a0Cedarville University on May 4, 2024, her journey will come full circle in July when\u00a0she\u00a0begins\u00a0her career as a NICU nurse\u00a0\u2014\u00a0in the same ward where she was placed as an infant.\u00a0Good\u00a0is\u00a0currently\u00a0serving\u00a0as a medical technician at Nationwide Children\u2019s\u00a0Hospital.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Good\u00a0maintains\u00a0that her birth, early\u00a0life\u00a0and journey through medical complications is not just her own story, but the story of her family that loved her, the nurses and doctors who treated her\u00a0and a God who\u00a0provided\u00a0for her.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Good\u2019s parents had lost a prior set of identical twins before\u00a0the\u00a0premature birth\u00a0of\u00a0Good\u00a0and\u00a0her\u00a0own\u00a0twin sister,\u00a0who passed away\u00a0two days\u00a0later. While the\u00a0situation looked bleak, her family\u2019s faith in God and in their young child was bolstered by the treatment and care shown\u00a0by the nurses and doctors of the NICU ward.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

After a few months of NICU treatment,\u00a0Good\u00a0was\u00a0able to\u00a0come\u00a0home with her\u00a0parents. However,\u00a0her doctors warned that due to the complications of her premature birth, there\u00a0would\u00a0likely\u00a0be\u00a0future complications that could prevent\u00a0Good from living a normal life.\u00a0This warning\u00a0became\u00a0partially true\u00a0when\u00a0Good\u00a0faced a scoliosis diagnosis at eight years old,\u00a0needing\u00a0to wear a back brace from the time she was nine\u00a0and\u00a0needing\u00a0spinal fusion surgery\u00a0the\u00a0summer before\u00a0entering\u00a0high school.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember walking into that surgery\u00a0knowing the Lord had saved me for a purpose.\u00a0I\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0sure what that purpose\u00a0was,\u00a0but I\u00a0knew\u00a0that\u00a0life\u00a0had\u00a0been\u00a0hard\u00a0and that this\u00a0surgery\u00a0was\u00a0going to be\u00a0life-changing,\u201d said Good. \u201cBut I knew\u00a0most of all that\u00a0recovery was\u00a0going to be rough because I\u00a0would need\u00a0to learn how to walk comfortably again\u00a0and\u00a0I\u00a0would\u00a0need to rely on others\u00a0to help, which\u00a0I’m\u00a0not good at.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yet it was\u00a0Good\u2019s\u00a0reliance on others\u00a0throughout her medical journey\u00a0that led her\u00a0to\u00a0pursue a degree\u00a0in nursing.\u00a0Her experiences as a newborn\u00a0and\u00a0overcoming scoliosis gave her a passion to care for others.\u00a0\u00a0This\u00a0dream\u00a0took root\u00a0in high\u00a0school\u00a0\u00a0and\u00a0became more of a\u00a0reality when she found Cedarville University. She\u00a0chose\u00a0to pursue a degree in nursing\u00a0while\u00a0also\u00a0learning\u00a0how\u00a0to\u00a0better\u00a0share\u00a0her\u00a0faith in\u00a0the\u00a0God\u00a0who\u00a0provided\u00a0at\u00a0every step of her journey.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Good\u2019s academic journey was beneficial for\u00a0her.\u00a0During her four years at Cedarville, she\u00a0acquired\u00a0first\u00a0an internship\u00a0and\u00a0later her\u00a0preceptorship\u00a0in the same NICU\u00a0ward\u00a0at\u00a0Nationwide Children\u2019s Hospital\u00a0where she\u00a0had\u00a0stayed as a patient\u00a020\u00a0years prior.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI never thought I would\u00a0actually get\u00a0chosen to work\u00a0at Nationwide Children\u2019s,\u201d said Good. \u201cThere\u2019s\u00a0a part of\u00a0the\u00a0ward\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0called\u00a0the\u00a0BPD, which stands for\u00a0bronchopulmonary dysplasia,\u00a0and\u00a0it is\u00a0the only\u00a0one\u00a0in the country that specializes in\u00a0this\u00a0specific respiratory disease.\u00a0People\u00a0come from all over\u00a0the country\u00a0to work there,\u00a0so to land a job\u00a0there\u00a0right after graduation is\u00a0incredibly\u00a0difficult\u00a0and\u00a0very rewarding\u00a0for me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

For\u00a0Good,\u00a0this\u00a0placement\u00a0is\u00a0deeply personal beyond any career advantages.\u00a0Many of the doctors and nurses at the NICU unit were interns and medical techs\u00a0when\u00a0she was born, and to work alongside the same healthcare providers who saved her life is a great honor. Yet even greater still is the opportunity Good believes she has as a former NICU patient\u00a0to serve\u00a0NICU babies and their families.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey told me I might never have a normal life, but by the grace of God, I finished nursing school and am now entering the field as a professional,\u201d said Good. \u201cI think\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0special that I get to\u00a0be a light to these parents who\u00a0don’t\u00a0know what their kids\u2019\u00a0lives are going to\u00a0be like.\u00a0It’s\u00a0special\u00a0to be able to give them\u00a0a\u00a0small\u00a0glimpse\u00a0of hope that their kid could be normal,\u00a0have a full life and do all the\u00a0things\u00a0they\u00a0dream\u00a0they\u00a0will\u00a0do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking in the NICU is taxing, but it\u00a0helps you realize the importance of life and\u00a0death and how,\u00a0as a Christian nurse, you can\u00a0serve\u00a0in\u00a0times of\u00a0difficulty,\u201d said Good. \u201cYou get to be the\u00a0person to walk through all those highs and lows with them,\u00a0and\u00a0that’s\u00a0a\u00a0super\u00a0special\u00a0\u00a0way\u00a0to serve as both a healthcare professional and a Christian.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Located in southwest Ohio,\u00a0Cedarville University<\/a>\u00a0is a Baptist university with\u00a0undergraduate<\/a>\u00a0programs in arts, sciences, and professional programs, and\u00a0graduate<\/a>\u00a0programs. With an enrollment of 5,456 students in 175 areas of study, Cedarville is one of the largest private universities in Ohio and is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, and high graduation and retention rates. For more information about the University, visit\u00a0cedarville.edu<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Written by Benjamin\u00a0Konuch\u00a0<\/p>\n