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Former NICU patient Jessica Johnson (center) with NICU nurses Brenda Reed (at left) and Sharon Perry
Although Jessica Johnson weighed only 1 pound, 12 ounces when she was born 31 years ago, the BWH nurses who took care of her remember her as a true fighter.
"You were a feisty little one," said a smiling Brenda Reed, RN, of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), during Johnson's first visit back to BWH to see her nurses earlier this month. "I remember that you used to pull on your breathing tube. You really wanted to be free of it. You were one tough cookie."
After hearing stories of her stay in the NICU from her parents every year on her birthday, Johnson, of Thousand Oaks, California, made a dream of hers a reality recently when she came back to visit Reed and Sharon Perry, RN, two of the nurses who cared for her for nearly three months after she was born.
"It's pretty surreal to be back here," said Johnson, a biochemist, as she sat looking at photographs of herself as a baby with her nurses inside the NICU Solarium. "I'll carry this hospital in my heart for the rest of my life."
Born prematurely at 26 weeks, Johnson required constant monitoring and care when she was born. Her mother, expecting twins, suffered from severe preeclampsia, which is characterized by high blood pressure that can lead to seizures during pregnancy if left untreated. This diagnosis meant that she needed to give birth early. Johnson's twin sister did not survive.
During their visit together, Reed, who is retiring this year after 33 years at BWH, and Perry, who has worked in the NICU for the last 32 years, said Johnson was one of the first babies they took care of in their careers.
"She's my oldest baby," Perry said smiling as she held up a photograph of herself and baby Johnson in the NICU. "As a nurse, you invest a lot of time, energy and angst in these babies for all of those months, so it's always wonderful when they come back to visit us."
In addition to photographs, Johnson brought messages of thanks from her parents, Harvey and Lucy, to her nurses: "They thank you for all that you did for our family. We're all pretty attached to this place."
Before heading into the NICU for a tour, Johnson also thanked her nurses for making her the person she is today.
"You allowed me to do so many things in my life," she said. "I'm reminded on occasion that I'm a fighter because I beat the odds. I've always kind of fallen back on that as a point of inspiration. I don't take anything for granted because I think being here today is a true blessing."