In a children's hospital in Atlanta, one man is helping to make all parents feel a little more comfortable while their babies are in the ICU. Having your child in intensive care is incredibly stressful. You might not be able to go see them every day, but luckily that's where the 'ICU Grandpa' steps in!
The Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is a temporary home for a lot of sick babies. They need a lot of love and care, and sometimes having someone hold them actually helps. One volunteer realized that parents couldn't always be there, so he decided to donate his time to helping the tiny babies get some extra love.
What he does means a lot to the moms who come to the hospital, including Mary Beth Brulette who always felt bad about leaving her baby.
The 'ICU Grandpa' is actually David Deutchman, a volunteer with the hospital for the last 12 years. He has been there to comfort babies and parents for over a decade, giving parents a much needed break when they need it.
Every week he spends his Tuesdays in the PICU to spend time with the premature babies whose parents aren't able to be there. Then on Thursdays he goes to the NICU to visit with the other babies.
Brulette was travelling two hours to the hospital each day to see her baby. "Every morning I get here as soon as I can, but I'm always anxious that he's alone, and he's missing Mommy," she said.
Until one time when she arrived to see her son in "Grandpa's" arms. "When I saw Grandpa, I of course started crying. Because it was so precious and he was so cozy in his arms and Grandpa was just as happy as can be, as if it was his own grandchild,"
Deutchman loves what he does. He said, "Some of my guy friends, they ask me what I do here. And I say, 'well, I hold babies. I get puked on, I get peed on,' and they say why would you do that?! Some people just don't understand the kind of reward you would get from holding a baby like this. It's been wonderful because it gives me something to do that has meaning to it."
