CCMH Neonatal ICU reunion brings joy to niche community

In a place that has held excitement and fear, families and former Neonatal Intensive Care Unit patients visited the Comanche County Memorial Hospital Atrium Gardens for the NICU reunion.

The event served as a way for families to remember and workers to witness how far they have come.

Natalie Fitch, Chair of the CCMH Trustee Board and member of the CCMH Foundation board, recalled the namesake of the NICU unit, Terry K. Bell.

“He was a very wonderful citizen here in Lawton, and when he passed away there was a foundation formed. They found a need for our community. Terry was a very giving person, loved children. The need for a NICU in southwest Oklahoma was critical, so we began from that point.” she said, “It’s very touching to ever visit the NICU, because you can see how bonding it is to have the parents there with the child and not have to travel out of town.”

Sheli Dawson, a labor and delivery nurse at CCMH, held Chevy Davis, a former patient that needed to stay in the NICU for almost three months. Sheli said the event was special to them as a family because: “He just gets to see all the nurses that loved him and took care of him, and helped him reach his first milestones.”

On a personal level, Fitch is also the godparent of twins that needed to stay in the NICU and are now in the first grade, both happy and healthy. She comes to the annual event every year to see the former NICU babies who have been helped by Terry’s gift, now thriving children and young adults.

CCMH’s NICU reunion took place Oct. 24. The event was full of fun activities for former NICU babies, their families, and the staff that cared for them.

“It’s bittersweet,” said neonatal nurse manager Connie Bond. “We get to welcome back the families that we took care of when they were in a time of crisis, they were in a time of transition. It’s some of the hardest and scariest times of their lives, and we get to see them after they go home.”

Nurse Amy Smith said her favorite part of the event is being able to see all the children that she has gotten to care for throughout her years at CCMH. The favorite part for the families, she said, was the fellowship of being able to come and be with other families who have been through similar experiences.

Justin and Anna Light brought their 20-month-old “miracle baby,” Emma. Emma needed to stay in the NICU at CCMH for a total of 12 days after being born prematurely.

“It was scary,” Anna said. Justin added, “Especially being new parents and waiting for so long to have a child … we had been trying for over a decade at that time, so she’s our little miracle baby.”

The nurses in the unit were particularly touching for the Light family, “They taught us how to feed her, gave her her first bath,” Anna said. Justin added, “As first time parents, they were very detailed in the ‘how-to,’” for their baby of only 3 lbs., 11oz. “We were scared to even touch her and hold her,” Anna recalled.

The reunion gave the family the opportunity to reminisce and marvel at how far they had come.

The event, which began in 2013, has taken place every year (excluding 2020) and provides fun activities for former NICU babies and their families. This year, the event included costumes, a candy walk, emotional support animals, a photo booth, and pumpkin decorating, along with snacks and drinks.