In a heartwarming turn of events, a young woman who defied the odds as a micro-preemie is now embarking on a journey to give back to the very place that saved her life. Hayley Good, a 22-year-old nursing graduate, will soon begin her career in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where she spent her earliest days fighting for survival.
“I grew up knowing how the nurses saved my life,” Good tells PEOPLE. “I was told that they tirelessly worked and advocated for me, even though they weren’t even sure if I was going to survive.” Now, she’s eager to share her unique perspective and offer hope to families navigating the challenges of the NICU.
A Premature Beginning
Good’s journey began in 2001 when her parents, Heith and Pamela, of Amanda, Ohio, tragically lost their first set of identical twin daughters at 23 weeks. A year later, they were blessed with another set of identical twin girls, Hayley and her sister Hillary.
“We don’t have twins on either side of the family. They would always tell me, they felt like the Lord was giving them their twins back a year later,” Good recalls.
A Fragile Start
Delivered at 24 weeks, Good weighed a mere 1 lb., 9 oz., while her sister Hillary lived for only two days. For about four and a half months, Good was in the NICU at Ohio State University Medical Center and also at the NICU at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where she underwent heart surgery shortly after her birth.
Throughout her stay, the loving NICU nurses not only cared for Good but also provided comfort and support to her entire family during this trying time. “A lot of the nurses really tried to wrap my parents with just comfort and love and just caring for me to their best of their ability because they didn’t know what was going to happen,” she says.
A Dream Realized
On May 4, Good graduated with a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Cedarville University, and on July 7, she will begin her career in the NICU at Nationwide Children’s in Columbus. “The NICU’s where I feel most at home,” she says.
As she prepares for this next phase, Good understands the wide range of emotions that come with working in the NICU. “I think the NICU, it can be very exciting and you just think of how exciting it is to care for babies, but also it is the difference between a baby thriving and a baby dying,” she explains.
A Beacon of Hope
Despite the challenges, Good is eager to be a beacon of hope for families facing similar struggles. “It happened to me, and my parents were in that spot and they didn’t know what was going to happen,” she says. “I think in the NICU it’s really hard for them to grasp and imagine that their kid will be able to go to high school and college and graduate and be successful.”
With her own remarkable journey as inspiration, Good is most excited to share her story and show families that there is possibility, that their child too can thrive and achieve great things. “That’s what I’m most excited for, to be able to share my story and show them that there is possibility, that it could be possible for their child too.”