So when a special moment of connection happens in the NICU, it's important to savor it.
For David Caldwell and Renata Freydin, who are engaged, they're currently in the waiting game of taking their three-week-old son, Zayne, home after he was born ten weeks ahead of schedule.
One night when the couple returned home from visiting Zayne in the NICU, Caldwell began digging through old photo albums in search of photos of him in the hospital at the time of his birth. He wanted to compare and see how striking their resemblance was.
Caldwell had also been a preemie baby. Even more interestingly, Caldwell had also been cared for in the same NICU, in the same hospital where Zayne was staying, at The Children's Hospital at St. Peter's University Hospital.
While looking through the photos, however, the couple soon came across a familiar face.
Caldwell had a photo of the primary NICU nurse who had taken care of him during his stay, holding him in a cuddly embrace and smiling into the camera. He recalled that his mother had been so happy with Caldwell's care, she had made sure to get a picture of his primary nurse.
Freydin was insistent that the nurse in the picture was the same nurse she had been meeting at the NICU, and the same nurse who was now offering primary care to their son, Zayne.
Caldwell didn't believe Freydin at first and couldn't imagine the world being that small.
But when they appeared at the NICU to visit their son, with the photo in hand, several nurses were quickly able to confirm the nurse in the picture was the very same nurse who had remained on staff for the past 30 years, Lissa McGowan.
You can see more coverage of the story from ABC News here:
When McGowan returned to work several days later, Caldwell and Freydin were quick to meet with her and show her the picture of her and Caldwell together from three decades before.
McGowan and the couple were so excited, they were quick to recreate the original photo with photos including Zayne and an all-grown-up Caldwell.
Freydin shared these on Facebook, where the post quickly went viral, with more than 4,000 comments and 27,000 shares.
Many celebrated how beautiful they thought the connection was between the father and son's birth stories.
Renata Freydin / Facebook
Renata Freydin / Facebook
Renata Freydin / Facebook
Renata Freydin / Facebook
Renata Freydin / Facebook
Renata Freydin / Facebook
Renata Freydin / Facebook
Freydin confided discovering the connection between her healthy husband's birth and her son gave her confidence and reassured her everything would be okay.
Freydin wrote:
"The past 2 weeks have been filled with worries and uncertainty but we can breathe easy knowing my lil nuggets nurse is the same one that helped the man I love when he was in the same situation."
The couple has since shared, as well, that Zayne is doing well, measuring at over four pounds at the age of three-weeks-old, putting him well on the path to recovery and life-long health.
Third-grade teacher, Shannon Maxey, greatly enjoys a good cup of coffee. So much so, she keeps her own Keurig and coffee supplies in her classroom, including vanilla almond flavoring syrup.
But only when one of her third-graders asked her what could have been a very embarrassing question did she realize her students actually thought she was adding liquor to her coffee, instead of flavoring syrup.
Maxey's student told her she needed to ask her something in private, so she knew something was up.
Once alone, her student asked her:
"Why do you keep liquor by your coffee?"
Maxey had to laugh when she heard this, and quickly explained what was actually inside the bottle.
She later reflected on the moment, stating:
"I drink coffee every single morning when my kids come in... In hindsight, every time I would go in for a second cup (which wasn't every day), the kids would say, 'Dang Mrs. Maxey, you're having MORE coffee?!'"
She found the moment to be so hilarious, she had to share it with her Facebook friends, including an image of her coffee station setup in her classroom.
The post quickly gained attention, with more than 5,000 comments and over 27,000 shares, mostly from fellow teachers and amused parents.
Shannon Leigh Maxey / Facebook
Shannon Leigh Maxey / Facebook
Shannon Leigh Maxey / Facebook
Shannon Leigh Maxey / Facebook
Shannon Leigh Maxey / Facebook
This is definitely one of those situations where a teacher would need to find the humor in what could have been a really horrible misunderstanding.
But as Maxey pointed out, it's wonderful to see she was able to create an environment in her classroom where her students could be comfortable asking questions like what's going on with her coffee.
In this case, everyone managed to have a good laugh, and Maxey certainly came out the other side with one of those teaching stories that will always make her, and others, smile.
Garza-Pena was passing through the boys' clothing when she realized Oliver had stopped behind her to look at something.
She turned around and saw him looking up at an advertisement of another little boy, not much older than him, also using a wheelchair. Oliver looked utterly awestruck and would not break his gaze from the advertisement.
Garza-Pena took a moment to take a picture while Oliver was still looking up at the advertisement. The moment was not staged or practiced; it was a natural and beautiful reaction to the power equal representation can have.
Garza-Pena reflected:
"I could see the look on his face, he knew that boy was like him."
After they had returned home, Garza-Pena shared the photograph, along with a special thank-you note to Target, to the Facebook page she runs for her son, called "Ollie's World."
The post quickly gained traction, many in love with Oliver's genuine expression, and others reacting to Garza-Pena's resounding hashtag choice, "Representation Matters."
Ollie's World / Facebook
Ollie's World / Facebook
Ollie's World / Facebook
Ollie's World / Facebook
Ollie's World / Facebook
The post was shared so far and wide, it actually reached the mother of the boy in the Target advertisement, Ashley Robinson. Her son in the ad is ten-year-old Colton Robinson in Massachusetts.
Ollie's World / Facebook
Robinson shared her reaction to seeing Oliver's photo for the first time:
"I was overcome by emotion and started crying. The expression on Oliver's face looking up to Colton was extremely touching."
The two moms have since connected on social media and have stayed in touch. Though their sons have different disabilities, Oliver with Caudal Regression Syndrome and Colton with Spina Bifida, the women have discovered their days look very similar, and they share many of the same challenges.
Both women agree equal representation needs to continue to be pursued across media advertisements, and that this moment between Oliver and Colton is the perfect example as to why.
Garza-Pena said:
"We want companies to jump on board for more inclusive advertising. These photos need to be everywhere all the time. People with disabilities need more representation in the community."
Robinson agreed, citing Oliver's reaction:
"Children of all abilities and sizes need to be represented. I mean, who doesn't want to look at an ad and see someone that you have something in common with? It's important for everyone to feel included. It's just a beautiful thing."
Though we're a long way away from seeing equal representation everywhere, in all media forms, it's important to see moments in the media like Colton's.
And perhaps it's even more important to see, for children like Oliver, how Colton's inclusion is really making a difference.
