After delivering her daughter, Stella, Leslie DeFrisco learned you can find joy in unexpected places.
“We knew she was going to be in the NICU, what we thought was for two weeks, and it turned into six months,” DeFrisco said.
Born with spina bifida, baby Stella quickly stood out in the NICU at Advocate Children’s Hospital in Park Ridge.
“Every day I started just making it as normal as I could, bringing her clothes in in the morning. I would come and we would dress her up and always have a cute bow or hat on her,” DeFrisco said.
Still her bows, Stella left the NICU, but passed away five month later.
“You just lose a piece of your heart forever and I wanted to continue to do something to continue to be her mom, to give her life purpose,” DeFrisco said.
To honor Stella, DeFrisco started collecting bows, headbands and baby clothes that she then donated to the hospital, to help keep the spirits up of other NICU parents.
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DeFrisco calls the collection of donated bows, socks, baby clothes and more “Stella’s Secret Stash.”
NICU nurse Eunjee Kim helps her go through the items, picking out props and outfits for each baby and then photographing them in the hospital.
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“Celebrating basically their milestones, holidays, birthday that they would have while they’re staying here,” Kim said.
Often using the baby’s footprint or handprint, Kim will also craft name banners and other keepsakes for the babies and their parents.
“I like seeing the smile on their faces when they come in and see the name banners on the bedsides,” Kim said.
Liz Lubiak is one of those parents. Her daughter, Lydia, was born premature and spent three-and-a-half months in the NICU at Advocate.
“These mementos not only helped me remember that she is still our baby and everything she went through, but I could decorate her nursery with these mementos and I still hold on to them,” Lubiak said.
In the 11 years since Stella’s passing, DeFrisco and Kim have styled countless babies, bringing DeFrisco joy, even as she grieves the Stella’s death.
“It makes me proud, like, I feel like proud of her that she gives me the strength every day to continue to do this. I’m happy I can start and provide those normal moments for other parents who come here when nothing in their life is normal,” DeFrisco said.
