Piper's first birthday honors Swedish Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

December 4, 2013 Jennifer Blume

Listening to Stephanie Baily talk about her daughter, Piper, turning one year old, you can’t help but hear the pride and gratitude in her voice. Piper was born seven weeks early due to complications with Stephanie’s pregnancy and spent 25 days in the Swedish NICU before she could go home.

Because of the excellent care they received at Swedish, Stephanie and her husband Jonathan wanted to do something special to honor their daughter’s first birthday. They also wanted to give back to the place that helped Piper during those first and fragile weeks of life. So they asked family and friends, in lieu of gifts of toys and clothes, to make a donation to the Swedish NICU.to the Swedish Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

“Swedish has such a special place in our hearts. We wanted to show our appreciation for those who helped us, and to help make things better for the next babies and parents,” said Stephanie. “It’s so important that parents know they can trust their child to the care of a nurse or doctor, especially here in the NICU. I had such a hard time leaving Piper and going home without her, but the little things the nurses did made me realize they were treating her as if she was part of their family. They let me call any time, 24/7, answered all our questions, and accepted all our emotions. They were always nice and reassuring, which is so important to a first-time parent.”

Stephanie explained that every morning she would come to the hospital and find Piper in a new outfit, specially picked out by her nurse, which really made them feel at home. “Our team at Swedish treated us like people, not just another patient, and that really made a difference,” said Stephanie, “We hope Piper will grow up and feel a special tie to this place.”

The Bailys plan on eventually having another baby, and when they do, Stephanie says there’s no other place they would rather be than Swedish.

Learn more about the Neonatal Intensive Care program at Swedish or make a donation to support the NICU.

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