Lindsey Lehman

Lindsey Lehman, a recent patient who delivered twins at our hospital shared a recent experience with us. “I went to a routine pediatrician appointment that quickly turned serious — my baby, Ada James needed to be admitted due to a low body temperature and suspected a bacterial infection. My husband and I quickly rushed our tiny Ada James back to Tallahassee to another hospital, not HCA Florida Capital Hospital, where Annders, our other baby was still in the NICU. The pediatrician knew NICUs generally had policies where a baby could not be readmitted once discharged, so we had to go to the pediatric unit of the other hospital — we essentially did not have a choice.”

“I was distraught over a sick baby, having to go to a separate hospital and to a pediatric unit with a preemie baby where we were unfamiliar, and now having our twin girls in two separate hospitals. I began to cry.”

“Then suddenly I was reading my texts messages and Connie, one of the NICU nurses from HCA Florida Capital Hospital, had texted asking how Ada was doing at home. I quickly replied back to her telling her the situation. She called us immediately. We spoke to her for a few minutes and she told us she would call right back. When she called back, she said the words that made my tears flow — tears of relief. She said, “Come to HCA Florida Capital Hospital. We are waiting for you. The NICU administrators and neonatologist, Dr. Gayed, said they would accept her back. They said she is our baby and we want to take care of her.”

“When those NICU doors opened, Connie, even on her day off, had come in to take care of her 'niece' and was standing there waiting for us. We were welcomed with smiling faces of the nurses that have cared so dearly for our two girls since birth, familiar doctors, the NICU hospital administrator, and so many other smiling faces. We were at our second home and I had such a feeling of hope and relief — we were with our HCA Florida Capital Hospital family.”