NICU nurse Sadie DeMars had the honor of caring for siblings Charlie and Tilly Walker.
Patients in the Akron Children’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) can stay for days, weeks or months. These extended stays give the NICU nurses the opportunity to get to know the families, not just care for the babies, and form strong bonds. One such situation happened between NICU staff nurse Sadie DeMars, BSN, RN, and the Walker family.
Akron residents Melanie and Alex Walker faced 3 years of infertility and unsuccessful treatments. Finally in 2023, using 8 donor eggs and in vitro fertilization, 1 embryo was viable enough to transfer.
Baby Charlie arrives early
Melanie’s pregnancy started off fine. But the 22-week fetal echocardiogram showed low amniotic fluid, so she had a follow-up test the next week. The fluid remained low, putting the baby at risk, so Melanie got admitted to Summa Health. Just over a week later, Charlie arrived on April 18, 2024. Born at 24 weeks’ gestation, he weighed just over 1.5 pounds and was 11 inches long. He had a 50% chance of surviving.
Charlie immediately got moved to the Akron Children’s NICU. Melanie and Alex are detail-oriented teachers who wanted to know what challenges Charlie faced. “He had breathing difficulties because his lungs weren’t fully developed,” Melanie shared. “He would have to overcome neurological issues and eye problems. Charlie also had a tracheostomy and a gastrostomy feeding tube. We knew our lives would be different from what we imagined, but we never gave up on our son.”
Sadie becomes a trusted resource
Charlie also had a heart defect and needed surgery at 2 months old. Melanie asked Sadie to be among his primary nurses because he would likely have a rough time after surgery. “I quickly began to know Charlie’s whole family and build relationships with them,” Sadie said. “Spending that much time with them created a new dynamic of ensuring they felt seen as people beyond the label of NICU parents. They were not just Charlie’s parents; they were Melanie and Alex.”
Sadie made Melanie and Alex feel relaxed enough to leave the NICU to eat or rest. She also made Charlie’s hospital room comfortable. “I was always a little nervous about doing things, but she made me feel more confident in caring for Charlie,” Alex explained. “She communicated well, telling us everything that was going on medically with him. We didn’t feel like we were stuck in a hospital room; we actually had fun.”
Charlie’s family and care team celebrated Sidney Crosby Day – No. 87 for the Pittsburgh Penguins – on Charlie’s 87-day birthday.
Celebrating every milestone
One such celebration happened when Charlie turned 87 days old. That’s the jersey number of Sidney Crosby from the Pittsburgh Penguins, Alex and Melanie’s favorite hockey team. Alex deemed it Sidney Crosby Day in Charlie’s room, and Sadie put her creativity to work.
“I will never forget taking a preemie IV arm board and tongue depressor to construct the world’s tiniest hockey stick for Charlie, and we held a photo shoot with his printed-out jersey,” she recalled. “Moments like that are when being a NICU nurse is the best job. We celebrate every milestone, no matter how small.”
Happiness and heartache
After 6 months in the Akron Children’s NICU, Charlie transferred to another children’s hospital for more specialized care. Although being farther away from home and extended family was hard, the Walkers got surprisingly great news. They conceived naturally and started to plan their lives as parents of 2 kids.
But a week before a scheduled surgery, Charlie passed away unexpectedly on Dec. 21, 2024.
Sadie and the other primary nurses – whom Melanie and Alex nicknamed Charlie’s Angels – jumped into action. “We wanted to support the family through Christmas and assist with Charlie’s funeral,” Sadie said. “We created posters of all his photos to set up at the funeral home, and we helped with sorting his NICU mementos. I had the privilege of reading a poem at his burial in his honor.”
Sadie visited the Walker family when Charlie transferred to a different hospital.
Tilly arrives
Charlie didn’t get to meet his little sister, Tilly, but they both started their lives in the Akron Children’s NICU. She weighed 2.5 pounds when she arrived on March 30, 2025. Other than breathing support, she just needed time to grow. She spent 69 days in the NICU.
Sadie got to care for Tilly as a family friend, not just a NICU nurse. “I took care of Tilly on what would have been Charlie’s first birthday,” she said. “I spent that shift telling her all about her older brother.”
Tilly came home with a nasogastric feeding tube, needed physical therapy (PT) and help from the feeding disorders clinic. She is now a year old, meeting milestones and doing well. She graduated from PT and no longer needs the feeding tube. “Tilly is wild,” Alex said with a laugh. “She’s always smiling at people; she lights up the room. We see a lot of Charlie in her.”
Sadie and her husband, Sam (far left), celebrate Tilly’s first birthday with Alex and Melanie.
Looking back with gratitude
Tilly already knows who Charlie is. “There’s a picture of him in her bedroom, and she gives him a kiss every night,” Melanie shared. “She’ll grow up knowing she had one of the coolest big brothers there could be.”
In July, Melanie and Alex will celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary. “We couldn’t have imagined everything we’ve gone through in 5 years. It would be easy to get bogged down with all the negative and things you can’t control,” she said. “But we think back to the NICU stays and how many Akron Children’s staff got to love on our children. Alex and I wouldn’t have met people like Sadie had we had full-term pregnancies. Sadie will now be in our life – and our kids’ lives – forever.”
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