SWNSA nurse was shocked to discover her new colleague was a former patient who she’d nursed in intensive care nearly thirty years ago.
54-year-old Vilma Wong has been working as a neonatal nurse at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Palo Alto, California, for the last 32 years but she had no idea she was working alongside a former patient turned doctor, Dr Brandon Seminatore.
28-year-old Brandon was treated at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital’s NICU for over a month because he was born so premature.
Google MapsVilma apparently recognised Brandon’s name when the two began working together earlier this month, but she couldn’t figure out how she knew him.
Eventually, she worked it out though when Brandon told Vilma he had been a patient in the unit 28 years ago.
Brandon even managed to find a photo of the pair together when he was a newborn baby.
SWNSVilma said:
A few weeks ago Brandon joined my team and was taking care of one of my patients. I asked who he was and his name and last name sounded very familiar.
I kept asking where he was from and he told me that he was from San Jose, California, and that, as a matter of fact, he was a premature baby born at our hospital.
I then got very suspicious because I remember being the primary nurse to a baby with the same last name. I asked him if his dad was a police officer and there was a big silence and then he asked me if I was Vilma.
A chance encounter at Packard Children's has led to a heart-warming reunion. Brandon, our pediatric resident, was born 28 years ago in our NICU where Vilma was his nurse. Fast forward nearly 30 years, and Vilma recognized Brandon’s name while he was rounding at our hospital. pic.twitter.com/oWd4FYjEeK
— Stanford Children's (@StanfordChild) August 15, 2018
Vilma confessed she was in shock initially but overjoyed to know that the little boy she’d taken care of almost 30 years ago was now working as a paediatric resident at the same place he was born.
For his part, Brandon admitted the whole thing was very surreal, adding he never expected to meet a provider who took care of him when he was a baby.
He explained
When Vilma recognized my name, I remembered the photos my parents had shown me and I truly sunk in that I was one of these babies.
I’ve come full-circle and I’m taking care of babies with the nurse that took care of me.
Vilma said it was extremely satisfying to see patients like Brandon, who was critically ill at birth, thrive adding that she loves her job and considers herself lucky to work in a field where she can make a difference.
She said:
It’s really special to see that almost thirty years later Brandon has a passion to treat patients who are in the same position he was all those years ago.
Brandon went on to say that meeting Vilma was a privilege and demonstrated her dedication and love for the job.
He said Vilma cares deeply for her patients, to the point that she was able to remember a patient’s name almost three decades later.
He finished by saying that not everyone gets the chance to see their patients grow up, and he’s so happy to be able to share that moment with Vilma.
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More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.
Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.
He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.