NCH NICU reunion in Naples celebrates families and healthy babies

Reporter: Haley Zarcone
Published: Updated:

A heartwarming reunion unfolded as more than 50 families gathered to meet the dedicated heroes who ensured their babies could go home healthy.

The event at NCH’s NICU celebrated the remarkable journeys of these families and their children.

“When you’re in there, all the babies are so tiny,” said Jason and Kristin Frooshani, Adeline’s parents.

The Frooshani family is embracing a new chapter in their lives with parenthood.

“We were having a baby, and then the first day that we got to go home, but we could not bring her back with us,” said the Frooshanis.

Adeline spent the first 30 days of her life in NCH’s NICU. Now, months later, she returned, but she wasn’t alone this time.

“It’s kind of like a family reunion, honestly, because they were an extension of us when we weren’t able to be there,” said the parents of Maeva and Sonny.

The NICU reunion at NCH brought together families from the past four years to celebrate their children’s progress.

“Seeing the babies come from being so small and fragile to being home and meeting their milestones and starting to talk and walk and just blowing with their families is just so special,” said Mayva and Sunny’s parents.

Dr. Bridget Bazzella, NCH Director, shared her perspective on the reunion.

“We don’t recognize the children, of course, but we recognize the parents,” said Dr. Bazzella.

The reunion marked a full-circle moment, reconnecting parents with their children and the staff who supported them.

“The nurses, the staff, the doctors, were all so attentive, so helpful to us, so understanding parents trying to get through the NICU process,” said the Frooshani family. “It was such a cause we wouldn’t wish it on anybody for their first baby, or any baby for that matter, but we couldn’t be happier.”

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