A premature infant born in 2016 spent the first five months of her life in a hospital, without a single visitor.
Born to a mother struggling with addiction, the baby, Gisele, weighed less than two pounds and faced a host of serious health challenges.
She was suffering from neonatal abstinence syndrome due to the drug exposure before she was born.
Liz Smith, a pediatric nurse at Franciscan Children’s Hospital in Boston, was the director of nursing at the time. She wasn’t Gisele’s primary nurse, but she felt a powerful connection to the little girl who had no one.
Day after day, Liz would visit Gisele, hold her, and care for her. She knew in her heart that this child was meant to be her daughter.
Eventually, the state determined that Gisele’s birth parents were not able to care for her. In April 2017, Liz was able to bring her home as a foster parent.
The adoption was officially finalized in October 2018, making Liz and Gisele a family.
Under her mother’s love and care, Gisele has blossomed into a happy and thriving little girl.
