A man who was born premature returned years later as a doctor in the same hospital where he was born. And, most surprisingly, he was greeted at the hospital by someone who knew him.
Brandon Seminatore was born prematurely in April 1990 at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in California and was immediately admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit, where he was cared for by a wonderful nurse, Vilma Wong. Just over a month later, her mother, Laura Seminatore, was able to take her baby boy home.
Brandon grew up, went to medical university, and started working at the same hospital as a resident pediatrician. His mother, who still remembered the nurse who had taken care of her son, asked Brandon to find her, as she was their favorite nurse.
In 2018, when Brandon was new at the hospital, Wong ran into him and asked for his name. When he told her his name, she began to feel a sense of recognition.
Suspecting that Brandon might be the baby she had cared for 28 years earlier, she asked for more information from the doctor. Eventually they both realized who the other person was. Brandon could hardly believe that this was really happening and that the nurse still remembered him after all those years.
The touching story was shared by the hospital’s Facebook page. They wrote: “A chance encounter at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford has led to a heart-warming reunion between nurse and patient.”
Two pictures were shared, one with Wong holding the baby in his arms and the other with the now adult Brandon standing next to the nurse, both smiling.
“Vilma is a wonderful friend, a great mother, and a fantastic professional! She has a huge, loving heart!” wrote one user, Francisco Chavarria.
The Facebook post has been incredibly popular, garnering over a thousand comments and five thousand shares so far.
For Vilma Wong, 54, it was also a great experience: “As a nurse, it’s a real reward,” she said.
Wong, and nurses like her, take great care not only for the physical well-being of patients but also for their mental well-being, and this is particularly appreciated now, while the coronavirus epidemic is still raging.