vim - Marion General Hospital

Little Lily Returns
Lily Barrett (right) travels
from Michigan to visit
MGH, where she was
born, with her family:
sister Grace, father
Scott, maternal
grandmother
Shirley Mikula and
mother Julie.
Nine-year-old Lily Barrett shares a picture of her as a
newborn at MGH.
When Lily Barrett was
6 months old, her parents
decided to move from Indiana
to Michigan to be closer to
family. The decision ultimately
was the right one. The move
allowed Lily to get to know her
maternal grandfather,
who passed away five years
later from cancer.
A curious 9-year-old comes
from a state away to visit the
hospital where she was born
By Randy deffenBaugh
At 9:20 a.m. on June 19, 2002, little
Lily Barrett entered a bright, new
world after a normal birth at Marion
General Hospital.
This year, at the tender age of 9, with the help of
mother Julie, father Scott and 5-year-old sister Grace,
Lily made the trip from their home in Michigan to the
place of her birth to retrace the beginning of her young life.
“Lily’s third-grade class was talking about the different
states and geography, and through that conversation found out she
was the only child in the class not born in Michigan,” Julie says. “She was
quite proud of that, so we decided to return to Marion to show her where
we lived and where she was born, since she had an interest.”
When planning the return trip to Marion, Lily’s mother contacted
Donna Tucker, administrative director of maternal child care, to see if
it would be possible to take a tour of MGH’s family birthing center.
“We were just expecting a brief tour, but Donna and her staff made it
much more special and memorable than that,” Lily’s mother says. “They
had a cake, signs and balloons, and at the end of the tour, they placed a
doll we had bought Lily in a bassinet and rolled it out to her. It was a very
pleasant surprise, and we were very grateful for everything they did.”
Lily’s interest piqued and her eyes grew quite wide when touring the
nursery and seeing the newborns, because she helps feed babies at a latchkey
program after school.
According to her mother, during the tour of Marion and after seeing the
home she lived in as a newborn, Lily stated she may return to Marion, as
a fashion designer, and buy the same house.
She also says she wants to have twin daughters, Crystal and Rainbow.
What are the chances they will one day be born at MGH? Only time will
tell.
CALL
Schedule a Tour of MGH
Get an up-close look at MGH!
Call 765-660-7200 to schedule a tour of the hospital.
Vim & Vigor • SPRING 2012 49