HOLLYWOOD, FLA. (WSVN) – This NICU, or Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Awareness Day reunited former patients and their families with the caretakers who helped them through their earliest days at a South Florida hospital.<\/p>\n
Joe DiMaggio Children\u2019s Hospital in Hollywood hosted the annual homecoming Wednesday afternoon, the last day of NICU Awareness Month.<\/p>\n
The event allowed parents and patients to revisit the teams that brought compassion to the whole family.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very shocking, so they were able just to cater and, like, usher me into this, \u2018Hey, I know this is your fourth kid, I know you\u2019ve already had a bunch of kids, but some things happen, and we\u2019ll take care of him,’\u201d said Bethany Foster, the mother of a NICU patient.<\/p>\n
For one parent, her daughter was born 36 weeks into her pregnancy \u2014 nearly a month before the usual 40-week due date.<\/p>\n
The child had been moved to Joe DiMaggio for immediate assistance.<\/p>\n
\u201cUpon arriving, they were able to immediately have a team ready for her that assessed her,\u201d her mother, Daniela Muvdi, said<\/p>\n
Now a toddler, her daughter still needs extra care, but is doing much better.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re so thankful to be here today, and see not only my daughter\u2019s story, but every NICU parent and what we\u2019ve been through,\u201d said Muvdi. \u201cAnd seeing all the kids thriving is definitely very rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Medical workers say the gratitude and joy they receive shows just how far the children have come.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really about celebrating the children and their families, and their NICU graduation,\u201d said Division Chief of Neonatology Dr. Cherie Foster. \u201cIt\u2019s very moving; I almost cannot put into words how meaningful it is. To see someone grow and be bigger and out of that environment and thriving, it\u2019s the reason we all become neonatal caregivers.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reunion also shows how strong the bonds they created were during what Dr. Foster calls the worst time in a parent\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to say thank you to all the nurses, and it was an amazing experience,\u201d said Bethany.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/p>\n
\tJoin our Newsletter for the latest news right to your inbox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOLLYWOOD, FLA. (WSVN) – This NICU, or Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Awareness Day reunited former patients and their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":415062,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250],"class_list":["post-415061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415061\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}