Father and Son Treated by Same Nurse at NICU, 30 Years Apart

David Caldwell was reunited with his NICU nurse Lissa McGowan, from over 30 years ago, while she was treating his newborn son Zayne.

What We Know:

  • Zayne Caldwell was born on Jan. 30 premature, 10 weeks early and nurse Lissa has been caring for him since he was born.
  • In addition to his son, Caldwell was also born prematurely, 6 weeks early at the exact same hospital in 1986 and cared for by nurse Lissa.
  • Caldwell was flipping through his baby book to compare him and his son’s baby pictures in the NICU.
  • “My baby book came apart but the photo stayed in there,” Caldwell said. He and his fiancee Renata Freydin managed to come across a picture of Caldwell and nurse Lissa McGowan the day he got discharged.
  • Renata recognized nurse Lissa instantly as the nurse that’s been taking care of Zayne. “I saw the picture and I knew right away it was nurse Lissa,”  Freydin said.
  • The couple brought the picture to the hospital to confirm with other nurses if it was her or not and sure enough it was.
  • “It’s kind of unusual having your preemie come back after 34 years but to have a dad come in and be the dad of a preemie is a whole other story,” Lissa said.

It’s amazing how one encounter that has you constantly worrisome one minute, can have you so full of joy and completely speechless the next.