00:00U.S. nurse adopts baby who had no hospital visitors for five months
00:12After a tumultuous start to life baby Giselle and her mom Liz Smith a nurse from Massachusetts have a new
00:18beginning
00:20Brown-haired blue-eyed baby Giselle also from Massachusetts had a rather rough start to her life
00:26After been born prematurely with neonatal abstinence syndrome due to her birth mother's use of heroin cocaine and methadone while
00:33pregnant
00:34The infant was transferred to Franciscan Children's Hospital in Brighton a little after she turned three months old
00:41Giselle weighed just under two pounds when she was born in July of 2016 and required transfer due to the
00:47specialized care needed for her lungs
00:49As well as needing nutrition through a feeding tube
00:52Giselle had a lot of medical needs
00:54But unfortunately she didn't have a lot of visitors in
00:58Fact in the five months the baby Giselle was at Franciscan Children's Hospital as a ward of the state
01:03She didn't have a single visitor
01:06Until one day an unofficial visitor changed everything
01:10Liz Smith the director of nursing at Franciscan Children's Hospital
01:14Happened to be in the hall when another nurse wheeled Giselle by in her crib
01:19Although Giselle had been there for months already with social workers having no luck placing her in her forever home
01:25It was the first time Smith had seen her and as she laid eyes on her for the first time
01:29something stirred deep inside her heart
01:33Since the moment I met her there was something behind her striking blue eyes capturing my attention
01:37Smith told the Washington Post about meeting the baby that would become her daughter
01:42I felt that I needed to love this child and keep her safe as
01:46It would turn out Smith needed Giselle just as much as Giselle needed her
01:50For a long time Smith had been longing for a family after losing her own mother to liver cancer
01:56When Smith was only 19 the teenager decided to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a pediatric nurse
02:02Described as a natural nurturer Smith wished to not only honor her mother by serving others
02:08But hope to recreate the loving and fun environment in which her own mother had raised her
02:14Instead life seemed to have other plans for her
02:16When motherhood didn't happen for her and in vitro fertilization proved to be too expensive her insurance didn't cover it
02:23The 45 year old nursing director instead threw herself into loving and nurturing her 14 nieces and nephews
02:31Deep down however both Smith and her loved ones knew that the longing for motherhood and a baby of her
02:37own had never left
02:38And when she had an instant connection with baby Giselle the nurse knew she would foster her
02:43She quickly went through the necessary legal steps and paperwork to foster Giselle and weeks later as the infant turned
02:50nine months the state granted her permission
02:52Smith was warned that she would only be fostering Giselle
02:56Well every effort was made to reunite the baby with her birth family
03:00But Smith's co-workers still celebrated throwing her a baby shower and helping her set up supplies at her home
03:06Smith and Giselle worked on settling into their new routine and Giselle's birth parents initially were granted weekly visits with
03:13the infant
03:14Unfortunately, they were ultimately found to be incapable of caring for the infant and as a result their parental rights
03:20were terminated
03:21With no other family members eligible for adoption Smith was free to legally pursue adoption for Giselle
03:28Although she did so with a variety of complicated emotions knowing that another's loss was her game
03:34In October of 2018 Giselle was legally adopted by Smith and today is a happy and energetic two-year-old
03:41who uses a supplemental feeding tube
03:43But also loves avocados and pizza
03:46Both Smith and Giselle have found a family in each other and the nurse who cared for so many other
03:52children has at last
03:53Found the one special daughter. She'll care for for the rest of her life
03:58Her new favorite song is you are my sunshine Smith told the Washington Post and every time she sings it.
04:04I think to myself
04:05You have no idea
