ICU Grandpa’ Holds Babies Whose Parents Can’t Be With Them
ICU Grandpa does what grandpas do best
An elderly man who has been volunteering at an Atlanta hospital for twelve years is going viral for his compassion for and dedication to ICU babies.
This is why we love grandpas.
The Facebook post of the man known as ICU Grandpa, sitting in a chair and holding a PICU baby at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, has quickly amassed over 200,000 likes and almost 60,000 shares.
Alongside the image is a little background on this man, and exactly what he’s doing.
“They call him the ICU Grandpa. On Tuesdays, he visits the PICU to hold babies whose parents can’t be with them that day. On Thursdays, he makes rounds in the NICU,” the Facebook post states. His name is David Deutchman, and he’s been volunteering for more than a decade.
The baby in the photo is Logan, a preemie who has been in the hospital for six weeks. His mom took the picture after arriving one morning to find this kind old man giving her son some cuddles as she made her way to the hospital to visit him.
image via Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
“Logan has been in our hospital for six weeks. Every night, his mom goes home to be with his big sister. Every morning, she drives back to Scottish Rite feeling “anxious that he’s been missing his mommy.””
He surely does miss his mommy, but thankfully David is there to pick up a little bit of the slack. Something he’s done for many babies over the years.
In the comments underneath the photo, several other parents shared stories of David and their children.
One woman explained that ICU Grandpa doesn’t just care for babies.
And David’s own daughter stopped by to add to the chorus.
When my second child was born, he had to spend a few days in the NICU and leaving him was always the hardest part. But parents can’t stay around the clock, especially parents who have other children at home to tend to. While the nurses and doctors in pediatric and neonatal intensive care units are basically angels on earth, they have a lot to do.
Volunteers like David are invaluable assets to both the hospital and the parents of children being cared for. It’s obvious by the response to the photo, and the outpouring of stories from families who’ve been recipients of ICU Grandpa’s compassion, that his dedication to volunteering, and his love for these babies, has made a huge impact.
