Against the Odds: Hayley Good's Journey from Premature Baby to NICU Nurse
May 27 2024 - 8:11AM
Hayley Good was not expected to live long. Born at
just 24 weeks and weighing one pound and nine
ounces at the OSU Wexner Medical Center,
she was later moved to the neonatal intensive care
unit (NICU) at Nationwide Children’s Hospital with little
hope for survival.
The medical staff painted a grim
picture for Good’s parents. They learned that
if she survived intubation and heart surgery, her
life expectancy would be short and filled with medical
crises.
But God intervened in her young
life. Good survived the medical procedures
and, ultimately, overcame her immense medical
struggles. After earning her degree in nursing
from Cedarville University on May 4, 2024, her journey will
come full circle in July when she begins her career
as a NICU nurse — in the same ward where she was placed
as an infant. Good is currently serving as
a medical technician at Nationwide
Children’s Hospital.
Good maintains that her
birth, early life and journey through medical
complications is not just her own story, but the story of her
family that loved her, the nurses and doctors who treated
her and a God who provided for her.
Good’s parents had lost a prior set of
identical twins before the premature
birth of Good and her own twin
sister, who passed away two days later. While
the situation looked bleak, her family’s faith in God and in
their young child was bolstered by the treatment and care
shown by the nurses and doctors of the NICU
ward.
After a few months of NICU
treatment, Good was able to come home with
her parents. However, her doctors warned that due to the
complications of her premature birth,
there would likely be future complications that
could prevent Good from living a normal life. This
warning became partially
true when Good faced a scoliosis diagnosis at eight
years old, needing to wear a back brace from the time she
was nine and needing spinal fusion
surgery the summer before entering high
school.
“I remember walking into that
surgery knowing the Lord had saved me for a
purpose. I wasn’t sure what that
purpose was, but
I knew that life had been hard and
that this surgery was going to
be life-changing,” said Good. “But I knew most of all
that recovery was going to be rough because I would
need to learn how to walk comfortably
again and I would need to rely on
others to help, which I'm not good at.”
Yet it was Good’s reliance
on others throughout her medical journey that led
her to pursue a degree in nursing. Her
experiences as a newborn and overcoming scoliosis gave
her a passion to care for
others. This dream took root in
high school and became more of a reality
when she found Cedarville University. She chose to pursue
a degree in
nursing while also learning how to better share her faith
in the God who provided at every step
of her journey.
Good’s academic journey was beneficial
for her. During her four years at Cedarville,
she acquired first an internship and later
her preceptorship in the same
NICU ward at Nationwide Children’s
Hospital where she had stayed as a
patient 20 years prior.
“I never thought I would actually
get chosen to work at Nationwide Children’s,” said Good.
“There’s a part
of the ward that’s called the BPD,
which stands for bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and it
is the only one in the country that specializes
in this specific respiratory
disease. People come from all over the
country to work there, so to land a
job there right after graduation
is incredibly difficult and very
rewarding for me.”
For Good, this placement is deeply
personal beyond any career advantages. Many of the doctors and
nurses at the NICU unit were interns and medical
techs when she was born, and to work alongside the same
healthcare providers who saved her life is a great honor. Yet even
greater still is the opportunity Good believes she has as a former
NICU patient to serve NICU babies and their
families.
“They told me I might never have a
normal life, but by the grace of God, I finished nursing school and
am now entering the field as a professional,” said Good. “I
think it’s special that I get to be a light to these
parents who don't know what their kids’ lives are
going to be like. It's special to be able to
give them a small glimpse of hope that their
kid could be normal, have a full life and do all
the things they dream they will do.”
“Working in the NICU is taxing, but
it helps you realize the importance of life and death and
how, as a Christian nurse, you
can serve in times of difficulty,” said Good.
“You get to be the person to walk through all those highs and
lows with
them, and that's a super special way to
serve as both a healthcare professional and a Christian.”
Located in southwest
Ohio, Cedarville University is a Baptist university
with undergraduate programs in arts, sciences, and
professional programs, and graduate programs. With an
enrollment of 5,456 students in 175 areas of study, Cedarville is
one of the largest private universities in Ohio and is recognized
nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic
programs, and high graduation and retention rates. For more
information about the University,
visit cedarville.edu.
Written by
Benjamin Konuch
- A Full-Circle Life
- A Premature Baby
Mark D. Weinstein
Cedarville University
937-766-8800
mweinstein@cedarville.edu