Duke nurse takes pregnancy photos for at-risk patients

McMillan, a labor and delivery nurse at Duke Hospital, is going above and beyond to give a priceless gift to her patients.

When Hawks was just 16 weeks pregnant with her first child, her water broke. She spent the rest of her pregnancy on bed rest at Duke Hospital, and each day she prayed for another day for her son. "He wasn't supposed to make it," said Hawks. "I had cancelled every baby shower, anything we had planned, and we hadn't bought a single thing for him. I couldn't have that stuff in my house if I wasn't bringing home a baby -- I couldn't do it."

Hawks' nurse, McMillan, knew the feeling. She had delivered her own daughter, Emma, 15 weeks early and watched her baby girl spend 82 days in the NICU.

"There’s a feeling of loss, and there’s a feeling of fear," said McMillan. "Every day is a question mark as to whether your baby is going to be okay or not."

Emma is now nearly 2 years old and thriving, and McMillan is paying her experience forward. As a talented photographer, she coordinates and donates maternity photo shoots to her patients, including Hawks. Her goal is to bring joy to patients whose pregnancies are anything but typical.

"I was a little hesitant at first to accept Kayla's offer," Hawks said, knowing the pictures could one day bring pain rather than joy. "We had hoped and prayed for a good outcome, but there was a really good chance that we weren't’ going to get it. Medically, he should not have made it."

Still, Hawks decided to take McMillan up on her offer and go through with the pregnancy photos.

She gave birth to her son, Isaac three days later. She now has a healthy and happy 4-month-old, and the bond between Hawks and McMillian is unshakable.

"I really feel like God puts people in your life for a reason, and Kayla is one of them," said Hawks.

McMillan has taken maternity pictures for seven patients so far, and says she'll keep offering them to women who want them. "For a moment, (these moms) feel so beautiful and so normal," said McMillan. "They don’t feel like they’re in a hospital anymore, and that makes my day."