When Rawlings Warren was born in December of 2024, she seemed like a healthy baby. Lacey and Ross Warren took their daughter home from the hospital to begin their life as a family of three, but at 12 days old, Rawlings began to show signs of not feeling well. By Jan. 3, Lacey knew something wasn’t right, and she and Ross took Rawlings to the ECU Health Emergency Department (ED). “We thought we’d get some medications and be sent home,” Lacey recalled. “But that ED visit turned into a 27-day stay in the hospital.”
Rawlings was transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) in ECU Health Maynard Children’s Hospital, where she received quick and comprehensive care. “As a first-time mom, I was scared to death. No one knew what was wrong, and we were terrified,” Lacey said. What turned that day around were the nurses on the PICU team, one of whom was Corbin Martin, a staff nurse III.
“Ross and I had stepped out of the room for a minute, and when we walked back in, Corbin was singing You are My Sunshine to Rawlings. We knew we were in the right place, and they were going to take care of our baby,” Lacey affirmed. “First-time parents spending the first weeks of their child’s life in the hospital can be an all-too-common story for our unit,” shared Corbin. “I connected with the Warrens through laughter to bring a lightness to their dark time.”
What Lacey, Ross and the PICU team didn’t know but eventually discovered was that Rawlings was born with a late onset bloodstream infection. That infection turned into sepsis, with additional diagnoses of meningitis, failure to thrive and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). “You have this 13-day old, and you can’t ask her what’s wrong,” Lacey said. “Finding out what was going on was the main thing, and the PICU team did everything they could to find that out.” Candace Guy, a staff nurse IV in the PICU, recalled the experience: “They were going through one of the most difficult things in their lives, and there was some uncertainty at the beginning of what the treatment plan would be, but the family was never unkind to us even though they were understandably frustrated. You can’t not be friends with them, and they are great parents.”
During their stay, Lacey said either she or Ross were at Rawlings’ bedside every minute. “We took shifts,” she said. “One of us would go home to take a shower and do a load of laundry, and then the other one would go. We were there 24/7, and these people became our family.” Lindsi Ahern, a nurse practitioner who responded to Rawlings’ Rapid Response and facilitated her transfer to the PICU, witnessed the Warren’s dedication. “They are so special to our team!” she said. “They quickly became great advocates for their child and a vital part of our team in caring for Rawlings. As a mom, I cannot imagine going through what they did in their child’s first month of life, and they did it with grace.”
Jonanna McGee, a staff nurse III, reinforced that feeling. “The family was very good at communicating with our team members, and it made it easier for us to advocate for Rawlings because we could speak to her and the family’s wishes,” she said. “They truly trusted our judgement and that formed a deeper relationship.”
The PICU team made sure the Warrens felt more comfortable during their daughter’s hospital stay, often in unexpected ways. “They would come in and talk to us, just to say hello,” Lacey recalled. “They always asked us what we needed, even in the middle of the night. If we cried, a nurse was there to cry with us. When the doctor came in, we’d hold our breath, but she would talk to us about dinner, books or whatever. We have a whole new set of friends.”
She also appreciated the staff’s concern about her own needs as a freshly postpartum mom. “There was never a day a nurse didn’t ask how I was doing postpartum,” she said. “They were the sweetest people,” said Dr. Anna Hamanjian, one of the attendings who cared for Rawlings during her stay. “Being a new mom and postpartum and being scared to death because their newborn was having all these issues – I can’t imagine. The most heartbreaking thing Lacey said was hearing about other new moms complaining about late nights or feeding, and she just wanted to be home and do those normal things. But even when they were frustrated, they were understanding.”
The team also did little things that, to Lacey and Ross, meant everything. “It snowed during our stay, and the team made sure we got to take Rawlings outside to see the snow. She was 20 days old, but it was important to us, and they made it happen.” Lacey also recalled that when the team learned about her and Ross’s tradition of going to Chicos every Friday night, a tradition now upended by Rawlings’s hospitalization, the PICU team ordered Chicos takeout. “These people who didn’t know us were picking up on things we were missing out on and bringing joy to a scary situation,” Lacey said. “They did it because their hearts are big and the have so much love to give.”
Another resource for the Warrens was their child life specialist, Chelse Smith. Certified child life specialists provide support and resources to help decrease the stress and anxiety of a hospital stay for children and their families, and they work alongside the medical team to meet the mental, emotional and social needs of the patients and their families. “Chelse was assigned to us in the PICU, and she is a gift from above,” Lacey said.
“I was able to build a relationship with the Warrens through conversation – although nurses and doctors rotate shifts, a child life specialist is a constant at the bedside,” Chelse said.
During those conversations, Chelse learned about the Warrens, including that their beloved golden retriever had recently passed away. “We are dog people,” Lacey laughed. “Our golden retriever died just before Rawlings was born, and that’s the theme of her nursery.”
“I was able to decorate Rawlings’s room with items similar to her nursery theme to provide normalization. We took several pictures of Rawlings and her family throughout her admission and I posted those pictures in the room,” Chelse said. Chelse is also the secondary handler for the hospital’s facility dog, Sam.
“Sam was a huge part of coping and support for Lacey and Ross,” Chelse said. “When we found out that Sam likes to sit in laps, that was great,” Lacey shared. “We now have a stuffed animal version of Sam in Rawlings’s nursery. It’s those little things that truly helped us in ways we can’t explain.”
Chelse also realized through her conversations with the Warrens that Rawlings hadn’t had her newborn photos taken yet, something that had been planned the day she went to the ED. “We have a program called Little Wishes that grants patients a wish during their hospitalization,” Chelse explained. “Lacey and Ross talked about missing out on normal baby milestones, including a newborn shoot.” So, Chelse arranged for the photo shoot to come to the hospital. “I got to be there every step of the way and celebrate the small wins.”
When Rawlings was discharged, Lacey and Ross couldn’t forget the compassionate care their family received, which is what prompted Lacey to invite the PICU team to Tie Breakers in Greenville a few months later. “We weren’t going to let them go,” she said. “They saved our baby’s life. The staff doesn’t get to always see what happens to their patients after they leave, and it was important to them see that we now have a healthy baby. They deserve to see the good side of things.”
The PICU team enjoyed seeing the Warren family again, including a healthy Rawlings. “It was so special to see both Lacey and Rawlings outside the hospital; to hear that she was thriving at home was heartwarming,” said Lindsi. “It’s nice when you can make those kinds of connections with families,” Candace reiterated. “We couldn’t wait to see the Warrens again,” Corbin said. “When we arrived, it was so refreshing to see Rawlings growing, off all her medications, and just being a healthy baby. We also got to see Lacey being a mom and finally ‘breathing’ as a first-time mom. It just validates why we do what we do – seeing a healthy, happy baby with her mother thriving and no longer needing our intensive services is rewarding.”
None of that would have been possible without the high-quality care Rawlings received while in the PICU. “When I think of what we get families through – it’s incredible,” Dr. Hamanjian said. “From the shortest admission to the kids who are here for weeks or months, we work together to communicate and advocate in the patient’s best interest. Everything we do is for the kids, and that’s what I love about working here.”
“We love our patients hard, and we love our team hard,” Candace added. “We’re super passionate about our patients and their families, and we are supportive of each other on our team. I’ve been here almost 20 years and the teamwork is strong here.” Lesley Smith, the PICU manager, spoke highly of the team. “We make an impact on patients, and they make a big impact on us,” she shared. “The Warrens are a prime example of how far our team goes for our patients and their families. It’s more than a nursing relationship – it’s genuine care.”
Lacey said now Rawlings is four months old and doing well. “She would not be here if not for the doctors and nurses in the PICU. Every single nurse, and I could name all of them, were all great. That’s why Ross and I are advocates for the PICU. They will forever be our friends because of how they treated us and continue to treat us.”