Fifteen years ago, David Deutchman retired from a long and successful career in international business marketing. But like many other retirees, he had a lot of free time and didn’t know how he wanted to spend it. He gave some lectures at universities near his home. But he wanted to do something more to pay back society.
That’s when he realized that he could do something to help the youngest generation. He went to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and asked if they needed any volunteers and they did. For the first year, David helped the pediatric intensive care unit, and was later asked to help at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
“Before you know it, I was holding little babies,” David tells People, “And 12 years have just flown by.”
Eighty-two-year-old David is married, has two daughters in their 50s, and has two grandchildren. He says that his work at the hospital not only helps the babies, but also is a blessing for him.
“It is very gratifying, not just because the babies are crying and you help them to stop crying. I came to love it, but not just because of the connection with the babies, but the whole atmosphere of the hospital.”
But David isn’t just there for the babies — he’s also there for the parents when they need a shoulder to lean on.
“I talk with mothers and sometimes I hold their hand, because holding a mom’s hand is just as important as holding a baby. There’s a lot of stress for these parents. Having somebody tell them they can go get breakfast and assure them I’ll be there with their baby, it means something to them. It’s important,” David tells People.
This is something Little Logan’s mom knows firsthand. She goes home every night to sleep. Then every morning, she returns to the hospital to be with her son in the NICU. Logan was born in week 25 of his mom’s pregnancy, and his mother said she feels guilty that she can’t be there with him 24/7.
Until one day, when everything changed. She arrived at the hospital and saw David sitting in a chair holding her son in her arms.
He smiled at her and said, “Hi! I’m the ICU Grandpa.”
Logan’s mom suddenly started crying as her guilt and sorrow melted away.
She struggled to hold back the tears, but she managed to take a picture of David and Logan. Then, the hospital posted it on its Facebook page, where hundreds of thousands of people have praised the “ICU Grandpa.”
The hospital writes, “This photo captures just one precious moment with a legend of a hospital volunteer who’s been holding patients, and their parents’ hands, for 12 years.”
David is just happy to hold the preemies and help their parents get through perhaps the toughest time of their lives.
“If there’s anything I can do so people feel they’re being taken care of, that’s what I’m going to do.
Thankfully, several television channels and newspapers have brought attention to this hero. After 12 years, the least we can do is let more people know about this great man!
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Please help us pay tribute to this amazing grandpa!
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