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Winchester Hospital Connects First-Time Mother with Husband Serving in Afghanistan
Winchester, Mass. – Jillian and Nicholas Pulire were thrilled to share in the birth of their first child at Winchester Hospital – even though it was long-distance.
The operating room and labor and delivery staffs at Winchester Hospital assisted in connecting Nicholas, a US Air Force captain serving in Afghanistan, with his wife, Jillian, by telephone during their son’s birth on Tuesday, July 21. The couple spoke throughout Jillian’s planned cesarean section, after which obstetrician Donald Druga, MD held 7-pound, 10-ounce Dominic to the telephone so both parents could talk to him and hear his first cry.
“It was very meaningful to be able to tell Nick what was happening minute by minute. It felt like he was here with me, and that brought me a lot of comfort,” said Jillian, noting that she preferred using a telephone rather than a webcam because she was more confident in its technological reliability.
“Everyone at Winchester Hospital was so wonderful and accommodating to our situation, going out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed,” Jillian added. “I was so happy with the care I received and felt lucky having people I trust take care of me and my baby.”
“I was very happy to know that my wife and child were okay,” Nicholas wrote in an e-mail. “It put me at ease that I was able to talk to her and didn’t need to wait a while to hear how things went, and I was so happy that I got to hear his first cry. It all made me feel a little closer to home.”
Susan Petrosino, nurse manager for labor and delivery at Winchester Hospital, said, “This extra effort reflects the individualized, compassionate, expert care that Winchester Hospital values and provides every day.”
Jillian and Nicholas were living on the Air Force base in Lakenheath, England last fall when she found out she was pregnant. After Nicholas was deployed in March, Jillian moved in with her mother, Susan Caffery of Tewksbury, so she could deliver her baby at Winchester Hospital. A native of Andover, Jillian had gone to Winchester Hospital since childhood for stitches, broken bones and illness.
“I knew that Winchester Hospital would be a great place to have our child because my family and I always had great experiences going there,” Jillian said. “The atmosphere at Winchester Hospital is much cozier and friendlier, but with the same quality of care that you’d expect at a much larger hospital with a much farther drive.”
Jillian plans to remain in Tewksbury until Nicholas can join them when his deployment ends in late September. Then they will return to RAF Lakenheath, where Nicholas will be stationed for the next two years.
Nicholas, a civil engineer with the 48th Civil Engineering Squadron, is in his second deployment to Afghanistan. He is working for an Air Force facilities engineering team under the 25th Naval Construction Regiment, which is responsible for the expansion of forward operating bases in southern Afghanistan. He is a native of Kennebunk, Maine.
About Winchester Hospital
Winchester Hospital is the first community hospital in Massachusetts to earn Magnet recognition, the American Nurses Association’s highest honor for nursing excellence. As the northwest suburban Boston area’s leading provider of comprehensive health care services, the 229-bed facility provides care in general, bariatric and vascular surgery, orthopedics, pediatrics, cardiology, pulmonary medicine, oncology, gastroenterology, rehabilitation, radiation oncology, pain management, obstetrics/gynecology and a Level IIB Special Care Nursery. Winchester Hospital has clinical affiliations with several nationally recognized hospitals in the region, including Children’s Hospital Boston, Tufts Medical Center and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. To learn more, visit www.winchesterhospital.org. |
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