Bob CollinsHere’s today’s daily dose of sweetness:
Gisele was born premature in 2016; she weighed only 2 pounds. That’s what happens when your mother uses heroin, cocaine and methadone during pregnancy.
The state of Massachusetts took custody when she was 3 months old and put her in Franciscan Children’s Hospital in Brighton, Mass., the Washington Post says.
In five months there, nobody showed up to visit Gisele.
Nurse Liz Smith wasn’t able to have children. Her insurance wouldn’t pay for in vitro fertilization.
Then she saw Gisele being wheeled down a hallway, the Post says.
“Since the moment I met her, there was something behind her striking blue eyes capturing my attention,” she said. “I felt that I needed to love this child and keep her safe.”
“She was behind developmentally, and I wanted to get her out of the hospital and get her thriving,” Smith recalled.
Three weeks later, she was allowed to take her home with the stipulation that the state still intended to reunite her with her birth parents, who visited her, but ultimately the state decided they were incapable of raising Gisele.
It wasn’t cause for celebration for Liz.
“The day I got the call that their parental rights were terminated was very sad,” she said. “My gain was another’s loss. It’s a feeling difficult to describe when you are experiencing this life-changing moment that someone else is as well, in the opposite way. The bottom line is: It’s devastating for another family.”
She’s 2 now, and still has medical issues. But last fall, Smith officially became her mom.
“Her new favorite song is ‘You Are My Sunshine,’ ” Smith said. “And every time she sings it, I think to myself, ‘You have no idea.’ ”
(h/t: Julia Schrenkler)
