Nurse adopts 2-year-old girl she treated as a baby in the NICU

SALEM, Mass. (WFXT) - Two years after taking in a baby she treated in the neonatal intensive care unit, a Massachusetts nurse and her husband officially made their family addition permanent.

Nurse Nora Lussier, who works in the Special Care Nursery at Beverly Hospital, felt an instant connection to her infant patient, Pamela, who had been exposed to drugs before she was born.

Pam’s biological parents couldn’t be part of her life, and Nora soon learned the foster family that had been lined up for her couldn’t take her in either because of her medical issues, including a feeding tube.

“I was kind of sitting there with her and thinking, ‘Well, she is really cute,’” Nora said. “Then, all my coworkers, all my friends said, ‘You should just take her. Just do it. Your husband won’t notice.’”

Nora and her husband, Martin Lussier, had hoped to become foster parents but never expected the timeline to be so soon. Despite some nerves, Martin quickly got on board.

“Seeing her come home and smile and be happy and laugh, I knew it was the right call,” he said of Pam.

Since Nora had taken care of Pam, the state was able to fast-track her foster placement.

“I was like, ‘Oh wait, am I her parents? Oh my God, I’m her parents. What have we done?’” Nora said. “I really do feel like I just blacked out, and suddenly, I had a kid.”

But for the Lussiers, it turned out to be the best spur-of-the-moment decision ever. Last Friday, on Pam’s 2nd birthday, the couple officially adopted her – with 25 loved ones, including fellow NICU nurses, at their side.

“This has been an incredible undertaking, but I can’t think of a better person to do it with and a better person to do it for,” Martin said.

Pam has had some delays but is progressing well – a happy, healthy and social toddler. While the timing of becoming parents may not have been the plan, the Lussiers feel she was always meant to be their daughter.

“They say not to take work home with you, which I definitely did. Worked out well for me,” Nora said. “We couldn’t have asked for a better kid.”