Recently, a woman walked into the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and saw a stranger holding her baby.
The stranger was an older, kind looking man. He was sitting in a chair and gently rocking her infant son, Logan.
Logan had been in the NICU for six weeks after being born prematurely and needed around-the-clock care. His mom was there to hold him as often as she could be, but as she was making her way to the hospital that morning, the man, David Deutchman, was happy to step in.
They call him the “ICU Grandpa.” And he’s been offering snuggles as an official volunteer at the hospital for 12 years.
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 photo was taken by baby’s, Logan’s, mom as she fought back happy tears.
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.’
On this particular morning, she walked into the PICU to find Logan—a preemie born at just 25 weeks—in the arms of David, who smiled and introduced himself as the ICU Grandpa. This photo captures just one precious moment with a legend of a hospital volunteer who’s been holding the hearts of babies and patients for over 12 years.
Credit: Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
Grandpas hold their children for just a little while, but their hearts forever.
