Recently, David Deutchman, an 82-year-old man, was nicknamed "the ICU Grandpa" at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Hospital. For 12 years or so, he has been 1 babies, children there.
Deutchman said he was coming to the 2 for a recovery after a running injury 12 years ago when he first 3 some of the patients' mothers. From conversations with them, he 4 that he wanted to make more connection with parents and children being5 at the hospital. Therefore, he started 6 at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Hospital after he retired from a job in international business marketing.
He 7 babies and sometimes he even gets peed(小便)on, but he is 8 to carry on. "It's been wonderful because it gives me something to do that has 9 to it. Every day I drive in here, I don't know which kids and parents I'll 10 and what the issues will be and how I can help, but I 11 it. You just can't imagine the kind of 12 that I can get from holding a baby and talking with parents", he said.
In the ICU, there are only two to three new admits every night so the first thing he will do is to 13 the parents who have been admitted the previous night. "Usually they needed a 14 after a whole night. And I make sure they can go down for breakfast and I'll stay with the 15 until they get back," he said.
MaryBeth Brulette, the mother of baby Logan, has been at the hospital for six weeks. On a recent morning, she returned to the hospital to find Logan in Deutchman's 16. Seeing this, she said, "All my 17 was gone."
Elizabeth Mittiga, an ICU nurse at the hospital, said that the staff 18 Deutchman's calming presence and appreciated Mr. Deutchman's 19 to his cause. He's a great help to babies in the ICU care. He's just a really special person to us, as nurses, and the babies just adore him.
"Right now, I'm still going strong and enjoying it an awful lot," he said. "So as long as they'll have me, I'll be there." What an outstanding human being! Truly, Mr. Deutchman is the typical example of a 20 man with a sincere desire to make his life worthwhile by helping others.
