The Doctor She Never Forgot

For Lauren, returning to a hospital to give birth again was not a simple decision.

Four and a half years earlier, the arrival of her first daughter at NYG, Harper, had been joyful — but what followed was frightening. Just days after Harper was born in August 2021, Lauren noticed something wasn’t right.

“Someone handed her back to me and I said, she has a fever,” Lauren recalls. “When you have a newborn who’s sick, everyone tells you to go straight to a downtown hospital. But something in my gut told me to go back to NYG.”

That instinct would prove lifesaving.

The Doctor She Never Forgot

For Lauren, returning to a hospital to give birth again was not a simple decision.

That instinct would prove lifesaving.

A Critical Call

Once at NYG, Harper was quickly assessed and placed on a series of treatments while doctors worked to determine what was wrong. Among the physicians caring for her was paediatrician Dr. Joey Latino.

Lauren remembers the moment he sat down with her and her family.

“He took us into a room and had the hardest conversation of our lives,” she says. “Something was very wrong.”
Dr. Latino made a crucial decision to place Harper on antiviral medication for HSV — a rare but serious infection in newborns. Soon after, Harper was transferred to a downtown hospital for specialized care.

At first, doctors there questioned the treatment.

They asked us, almost in disbelief, who had put her on these antivirals,” Lauren says.

But after running extensive tests, the team realized the medication had been exactly the right call.

“The doctor came back, apologized to us and told us that Dr. Latino had called it right,” Lauren says. “He actually said, ‘You owe your child’s life to that doctor.’”

An Unexpected Reunion

Recently, Lauren returned to NYG’s Baruch/Weisz Labour & Delivery unit to welcome her second child — a baby boy — at a moment when the space itself is nearing the completion of a top-to-bottom revitalization designed to enhance comfort and safety for families.

But coming back was not without fear.

After everything her family had been through, Lauren admits the idea of giving birth again carried a weight of anxiety. Still, she and her partner knew where they wanted to be.

“We wanted to come back to NYG,” she says. “Everyone here had been incredible.”

Because of her previous experience, Lauren’s care team had flagged her chart for extra monitoring.

Shortly after her son was born, she was being wheeled from her room when a familiar face appeared.

“I looked up from my wheelchair and saw him,” she says. “It was shocking but amazing.”

Dr. Joey Latino had walked into the room.

“Of all the people I’ve met in my life, he’s one of the most important,” Lauren says. “I’ll never forget what he did for us.”

To Lauren’s surprise, Dr. Latino remembered her too.

A Moment That Meant Everything

What followed meant more to Lauren than she could have expected.

Dr. Latino carefully examined her newborn son, answered questions, and spent time with she and her family talking through ways to keep him safe — the same thoughtful care Lauren remembered from years earlier.

“He was just so generous with his time,” she says.

Today Harper is thriving, her baby brother is healthy, and Lauren says the experience brought a powerful sense of closure and gratitude.

“We waited some time to have another baby because I think we were just scared to go through that again,” she says. “But being back at NYG this time, and seeing him again, I remember how much those teams actually care.

“I’m so grateful to them, and excited to move forward into this new chapter with my family.”

Help families like Lauren’s begin their stories in spaces designed for safety, comfort and exceptional care. Your support will help bring the Birthing Centre revitalization across the finish line.

Donate Now