Liz Smith’s first thought when she saw the beautiful blue-eyed child on her way to work as the director of nursing at Franciscan Children’s Hospital in Brighton, Massachusetts, was, “Who is this lovely angel?” She was a NICU preemie, and she would forever change Smith’s life.

Giselle, an eight-month-old ward of the state, had previously spent five months in the hospital. She was born prematurely, weighing just under two pounds, and was diagnosed with neonatal abstinence syndrome.

Gisele was born in July 2016, and in her third month, the state of Massachusetts acquired custody of her and moved her to the Franciscan Children’s Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.

As a NICU preemie, she needed a feeding tube and her lungs needed particular care. During her five-month incarceration, Gisele did not have a single visitor.

Social services were attempting to place Gisele in foster care when Smith met her. “I’m going to foster this baby,” she knew the moment she saw him. “I’m going to be her mother,” she announces.

This was not the life Smith had envisaged for herself as a mother. She had a kind and caring personality and had always wished to be a mother.

Smith’s mother died at the age of 19 from liver cancer while she was growing up in Andover, Massachusetts. She decided to honor her mother by following in her mother’s footsteps.

“My mother was a pediatric nurse who was always concerned about other people.” As a result, I wanted to be a nurse.” Smith was the middle child, with two brothers and two sisters, and she was sad when her siblings began having their own families.

“I never imagined it would be so difficult to become a mother.” It’s a need that you can try to ignore by doing other things, but it never goes away.”

Smith quickly established herself as “the world’s greatest aunt” to 13 nieces and nephews, but she craved more. “I always saw Liz as a mom, since she’s a nurturer by nature,” her sister Elly Smith, 40, said.

Smith looked into other options, but she couldn’t afford in vitro fertilization and didn’t want to adopt.

Gisele, on the other hand, altered her mind. “There was something behind her beautiful blue eyes that drew my interest from the moment I met her.

I felt driven to adore and defend this child.” She started the paperwork to foster Gisele right away, eager to see the NICU preemie grow into a strong and healthy child.

When Gisele was 9 months old, Smith was able to take her home with the understanding that the state would continue to try to reunite her with her birth parents.

“I was in amazement that it was occurring as I drove out of the hospital parking lot with Gisele and a car full of baby gear.”

I felt both happy and nervous because I recognized I was devoting everything I had to a child who might not be in my life indefinitely.”

Authorities immediately determined that Gisele’s parents were unable to care for her, allowing her to be adopted. The news both thrilled and dismayed Smith.

“It was a really sad day when I got the call that their parental rights had been revoked.” Someone else’s loss was my benefit. When you’re going through a life-changing experience and someone else is going through it in the opposite direction, it’s difficult to express how you feel. The end result is a tragedy for yet another family.”

Under Smith’s loving care, the NICU preemie thrived, and she was officially welcomed into the family in October 2018. “This is the mother-daughter bond my sister has waited a long time for,” Phil Smith, 44, said. It’s clear that they’ve given one other a sense of completion.”

Gisele is still on a feeding tube at the age of two, but she has gained 23 pounds and enjoys cheese, avocados, and pizza. She’s gone a long way from being a lonely NICU preterm at Franciscan Children’s Hospital. She’s energetic and affectionate.

To find out more about their amazing story, see the video below: