Carly Miller, a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurse in the state of Texas, spent six months alongside one of her critically ill patients, an infant named Conrad.
Now the 27-year-old nurse at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston gets to spend the rest of the young boy's life by his side as his godmother.
Miller told "Good Morning America" that she feels very honored. She said that it was something she never expected and that they wanted her to do that for him means the absolute world.
Conrad born with a rare birth defect
Miller first met baby Conrad on December 15, 2021, shortly after he was born. She was the first nurse assigned to care for him when the infant was admitted to the NICU.
According to Conrad's parents, Branden Williams and Austyn Evans, he was born with a rare birth defect known as lower urinary tract obstructions (LUTO) which impacts his bladder and kidneys.
Williams and Evans learned of their son's congenital disability while she was pregnant. The couple moved to Houston from Florida when Evans was in her third trimester of pregnancy so she could receive specialty care at Texas Children's Hospital.
Evans said that it was a terrible diagnosis to get as many of these children do not survive past zero or just survive a few days past birth. When Miller met baby Conrad in the NICU, she recalled that the infant was medically sedated and on a ventilator. She added that dozens of tubes and wires were connected to Conrad and those were the things keeping him alive.
What stood out to Miller amid all the medical equipment connected to Conrad were the child's adorable newborn cheeks, which Evans said left a lasting impression on them.
Evans said that one of the first things she remembers Miller saying was not how sick her child was but how cute he was. She added that Miller was talking about his cheeks, everything that she expected having a child would be like. Evans said that for everything they thought they would get robbed of, Miller gave back to them in a sense.
Conrad needs to undergo a kidney transplant
Miller often worked the night shift over the next several months, which meant that when Evans called to check on her child overnight, Miller was the one who answered the phone.
When baby Conrad was able to go on a state-of-the-art machine that allowed the infant to be on a type of dialysis, Miller became an expert on it so she could continue to care for him. That was a request of the parents, who know the tight bond between the two.
When baby Conrad was discharged from the NICU in June, Evans said she and her husband knew that Miller would remain part of their family's lives. The couple knew they wanted Miller to be the godmother of their son.
The next step in Conrad's health journey is undergoing a kidney transplant, and Miller will be there to help her godson.
