MIAMI (WSVN) - A happy and rare reunion at Mercy Hospital brought together an expecting mother who was born there with the nurse who delivered her nearly three decades ago.
Members of the Oliveraes family were surprised to see Jackie Raynor, the labor and delivery nurse who delivered Erika Oliveraes back in the early 1990s.
“We were so happy to see each other. We were overjoyed, and then she called her mom on the phone, and it was like a happy reunion,” said Raynor. “We had known each other. We’ve been like we’ve been family forever,” said.
Their story begins at the hospital, located in Coconut Grove, some 28 years ago, when Marlene gave birth to her daughter Erika.
Fast forward a couple of decades, and Baby Erika was all grown up and ready to be a mom herself.
Like her mother, she went to Mercy Hospital.
“[When I gave birth to] my first son, my mom was like, ‘I recognize you. Jackie was like, ‘Are you sure?'” said Erika. “My mom was like, ‘Yes, yes, yes!’ My mom went home, she went a get a picture of her helping her give birth to me, and she showed her, and [Jackie] was like, ‘Oh, my God. That is me.”
“She’s a very caring person, and that’s what I liked about her,” said Marlene, “and when I saw her with my daughter, it was like, ‘Yes.’ It was a connection right there, ’cause I knew who she was.”
Last week, Erika returned to Mercy Hospital in labor for the second time, and Raynor was there to greet her.
“When Erika told me that Jackie was there again, I was like, ‘I was praying for her to be there for you,’ because she is the best,” said Marlene. “She is super, she is caring, and we love her, and we know Erika and Baby Jerimiah were going to be in good hands.”
For Raynor, it’s all in a day’s work.
“It makes me feel so good that I rendered care that somebody appreciated,” she said. “Every day I come in here, that is my one goal.”
Because of the pandemic, their latest reunion was limited to a Zoom call.
They said they are all looking forward to the time they can get together in person and really reconnect.
“I would love to see her mom and dad again, but because of COVID, we can’t,” said Raynor.
Jerimiah is getting in a little extra time with Raynor while he is in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit getting stronger every day.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.