Dave Whitlow visits the Children's Hospital of Richmond every Tuesday and Thursday to cuddle some of its smallest patients
Credit: WTVR CBS 6/youTube
NEED TO KNOW
- Dave Whitlow has been volunteering as a NICU cuddler at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond for eight years
- The retired government manager comforts up to eight premature babies per visit while monitoring their health and progress
- Whitlow shares a heartfelt phrase with each baby, encouraging them to grow strong, smart, and kind
Twice a week, Dave Whitlow spends his days comforting some of the world's smallest patients.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the 73-year-old visits the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU in Richmond, Va., to work as a volunteer cuddler. Whitlow, who has been volunteering for the past eight years, helps comfort the tiny patients as they fight for their lives.
"It's the best gig I've ever had. It just feels right," Whitlow told CBS 6 News on Thursday, April 30.
On each visit, Whitlow typically holds about five or six babies. But some days he can cuddle up to eight different babies. Before he gets to work, Whitlow gowns up and puts on gloves, leaving his phone outside the NICU.
"I pretty much just want to be with them," he said, per the outlet.
Once he starts holding the babies, Whitlow looks at the monitors to make sure they're doing okay.
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"I watch the monitors first to see whether positionally there's anything to do to improve, but he looks pretty good," he said. "His stats are 100%, so that's what we're looking for."
He also checks in with the nurses who are caring for each baby before getting started.
"I ask the nurse, 'Tell me. Tell me what this child is receiving. What kind of treatment? Is there anything special I need to know about it?' " he said.
But when he first started, Whitlow admitted that the idea of holding tiny premature babies was pretty terrifying.
"I was scared to death because, you know, I'd held — we have two children," he shared. "They're grown now and I could hold babies."
According to CBS 6 News, Whitlow, who is a retired local government manager, is a dad of two and a grandfather of three. He explained that there's one phrase he always shares with each baby before leaving — "grow strong, grow smart, grow kind."
"It's important to me to think that this is what I want from people in general," he said.
Read the full article here