Labor of Love: Douglas Schmidt

When Douglas Schmidt walked into the nursery, the nurses gawked.
“I don’t think they saw a man in there before,” said Schmidt, a retired heavy equipment operator from Wood Lake, Minn.
For three months, Schmidt has been caring for premature babies at Valley Baptist Medical Center’s Newborn Intensive Care Unit.
“I hold them, rock them and help the nurses when it comes to feeding them,” he said.
Since 1998, Schmidt has been pulling into Park Place Estates to get away from cold back home.
Then three years ago, he wanted to reach out.
So he volunteered at Valley Baptist, where he drove a golf cart to shuttle visitors between the parking lot and the hospital.
“I had time to spare,” he said. “I thought it would be a good place to go.”
When he drove into town last fall, he found out the hospital filled his old job.
But the nurses needed help in the nursery.
“I decided to go where I was needed,” Schmidt said.
A father of three, his six grandchildren helped him practice for his new job.
But in the nursery, rows of little cribs hold about 24 babies, some as tiny as 1 pound, 4 ounces, he said.
“I was a little nervous,” Schmidt said. “I thought it would be challenging because some of the babies are pretty small.”
But soon, he was part of the team.
“The nurses all thank me when it’s time to go,” he said. “Some of them want me to stay longer.”
For Schmidt, it’s a job that’s touched his heart.
“It’s an inner feeling of reward,” he said. “It just makes you feel good. These are innocent little babies. They need care. It’s rewarding to see how they grow. It’s been three months since I’ve been there and some were there when I got there and some moved on.”

fernandodv@valleystar.com
956-430-6278