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Kentucky hospitals ensure NICU families don’t miss Halloween

Pabio October 31, 2024

KENTUCKY (FOX 56) — Kentucky health care workers have gone the extra mile to ensure families don’t miss out on holiday festivities.

As Halloween approaches, those who work in neonatal intensive care units are making it their mission to make sure families don’t miss their child’s milestones, including their first holiday.

“We go around; we’re giving the opportunity to parents here to still have that important milestone for these babies,” said Bobbi Gooch of Norton Children’s Hospital. “We dress them up and then we take their pictures and everything and then we send it to them so they have that memory to cherish every year. Even if they are in the hospital, they still have this opportunity.

Gooch and her colleague, Angie Lewis, said it’s a tradition they’ve been a part of for three years.

“So it’s crucial at this stage to give them something they expected with their baby, because everything else is very stressful. And I think that just gives them something to be happy about. Not that our unit isn’t happy on a regular basis, but these are different milestones that you don’t expect to have to celebrate,” Lewis said.

The Herman family welcomed their little bundle of joy about nine weeks early. Scott Herman said although they have been in the NICU for about four weeks, they are looking forward to celebrating their child’s first Halloween.

“A lot of friends are getting ready to trick or treat and, you know, the big question this time of year is, you know, ‘what are they dressing up as?’ So it’s nice to normalize our experience a little bit and be able to take some time and, you know, celebrate your first holiday in a fun way,” Scott said.

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“Well, you know, no parent expects to have to spend, you know, their child’s first Halloween in the hospital,” said Erin Ferguson, a NICU mom.

Ferguson’s daughter was born at 30 weeks and just turned four weeks in the NICU.

“But to still be able to have this image, this moment, it’s pretty special. We are really happy and appreciate that they are doing this for us,” she said.

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