We are all sinners; we all make mistakes but what matters most is learning from them.
A teen boy was seen terrified while holding a box on his way to the special care nursery. No one was expecting it to be a 3lb newborn baby wrapped in a dishtowel and is wearing a doll’s onesie.
When the incident happened, Jeannie Joseph was the nurse on duty at that time at SwedishAmerican hospital in Rockford, Illinois. She immediately took the baby boy out of the box and immediately treated him for hypothermia, dehydration, and infection the baby got from the household scissors used to cut his umbilical cord.
The next day, the baby had another visitor. A teen girl showed up and asked Joseph if she could see the baby. It turns out the teen girl was the baby’s mother. Without any doubt and judgment, Joseph led the then 15-year-old mom to the baby’s incubator and assured her that she would take care of the baby.
The young mom, Cherish Coates, felt an instant connection with Joseph that made her go back to the nursery to regularly check her newborn son and deliver some breast milk for him. Coates even shared her story with Joseph.
Coates explained that she was just 13 years old when she met a boy who was two years older than her. They fell in love, and one way led to another. She found out she was pregnant and didn’t know what to do; even her family didn’t know her situation. On April 24, 2004, Coates was alone in her bedroom when she felt an intense cramp in her stomach. She was going through labor, and that was when her son, Allen, was born. Not knowing what to do and afraid of telling her family, she cut the baby’s umbilical cord using her grandfather’s scissors. With her boyfriend’s help, they put the baby in an old shoebox and went to the hospital to have the baby treated.
Under the Safe Haven Law, the teen parents decided to leave the baby in the hospital. Coates even placed a note inside the box that said, “We love you, we are just not able to raise you. We want his name to be Allen Corey, and we will hope to be able to see you again. God will be watching over you.”
Although Joseph had no questions about the young couple’s plan to put the baby to adoption, the support she has given to Allen’s parents is enough to make them change their minds. Coates fell in love with her son and built up the courage to tell her family about him and her desire to keep the baby boy.
Coates recalled how Joseph was very motherly and nurturing; she did not judge her at all. Coates went back to school to pursue her dreams with Joseph’s encouragement. She became a nurse and entered law school to someday become a mental health attorney.
Thirteen years later, Allen and Coates were invited to appear on the daily American syndicated talk show, The Doctors, after their story went viral. Little did Coates know that the show had a surprise for her. They invited Nurse Joseph for a fun mini-reunion of the three.
Joseph could not contain her emotions the moment she saw Allen. She was thrilled to know that Allen was now a five-foot-three boy who loved playing soccer and thriving at school.
Although the two constantly message each other on Facebook, this is the first time Coates and Joseph are in the same room again after many years.
Coates sees her as her inspiration who made a significant impact in her life. Joseph was happy to be in someone’s life story and said,” “It just makes me think, ‘Wow, every interaction you have with anybody is so important. To be able to be in this position where I’m part of someone’s story of their life – that’s such an honor.”
We may not realize it, but the kindness we give to another person is enough to make their day or even their year. Whatever we do, let us always choose to do it for good and the glory of God.