The darkest moments in life can sometimes lead us to the brightest futures in ways we could never expect.
Providing care to premature babies in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) can be challenging, but for Tara Wood, it was a calling that changed her life.
In an interview with “Good Morning America,” Wood recounted her experience giving birth to her twin girls at 26 weeks and spending 87 days in the NICU.
Taylor England was born first and her twin sister, Jade England, followed right after her. Photo courtesy of Tara Wood
“I was 23 so I didn’t have a lot of risk factors, other than the multiple gestation, as far as to be expecting a premature birth,” Wood recalled.
I went in and they told me that they were coming and they tried to put off the labor but my water broke.”
She noted that she became close to the nurses who cared for her daughters during their stay.
“Every day I was there and visited and the nurses and the nurse practitioners were, I truly call them my lifeline to my babies,” Wood said. “Because they were really sick for a long time and I couldn’t hold them. It was almost, I think six weeks, before I got to hold them, close to two months. And so during those visits, I sat in a rocking chair beside their beds and I spent hours getting to know the nurses personally.”
The experience solidified her desire to become a nurse.
I call it a calling. I can’t explain it other than to say something didn’t sit well with me or feel right to be pursuing that degree,” Wood said.
“I told my family, I was like, ‘I really feel like I need to be a nurse.’”
After completing her nursing degree, Wood went straight to the NICU, where she realized being a NICU nurse not only fulfilled her professionally but also helped her heal personally. She earned her master’s degree in neonatal nursing and a doctorate in nursing practice from The University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she now teaches as an assistant professor.
Wood’s journey inspired her twin daughters, Jade and Taylor England. Jade recently graduated with a nursing degree from UAB and plans to work as a NICU nurse. Taylor will graduate from UAB with a degree in psychology and aims to become a child psychologist. While the sisters have different career paths, they share the same desire to help others and make a positive impact.
Wood said she is proud of her daughters and their accomplishments. She is also glad that UAB has been supportive of her family throughout their academic journeys. Jade plans to follow in her mother’s footsteps and earn her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, while Taylor plans to pursue an internship to earn her mental health certificate.
“Our story shows that anything is possible if you put your heart and mind into it,” Wood said.
For us, it was about finding something we were passionate about and never giving up. I’m proud of my daughters and the paths they have chosen, and I’m grateful to UAB for providing them with the support they needed to achieve their dreams.”
More importantly, Wood said, was how this experience has made her able to meet parents of NICU children on even footing.
“We didn’t really talk a lot about the impact of having a premature baby or having post-traumatic stress from events that really occur in our life. And so I think that I found healing and processed all of that through helping others and sharing my story and explaining to mothers and fathers and families that were crying in all of the uncertainty, that I know how you feel,” she said.
Watch below to see the amazing family and hear more about their story.
Sources: Good Morning America | UAB
