Eddie and Cora are participants in the Nurse-Family Partnership program through the Sauk County Health Department in Baraboo, Wisconsin. This is a update to a story in the April 2016 NewsLink.
Photos: Karen Lindner Photography
Since Emma was born, the family never missed a home visit from nurse Michelle. Michelle was there for them at every step. She supported them with everything from learning what to feed their baby to when a cold was serious enough to go to the doctor, which turned out to be pneumonia.
Recently at a home visit, Eddie was thankful to learn that Emma had scored very high on a developmental screening. He remarked that her development has been closely monitored, since she was born addicted. Emma has exceeded expectations and Eddie said she has “blown them away.” At 15-months old, Emma loves dancing – bopping up and down – jumping around and running. Eddie shared that she loves to copycat them – repeating their words – and always smiles over a playful game of peek-a-boo.
Eddie and Cora don’t have a lot of family support to help them as new parents. They haven’t introduced their daughter to most of their family. Many members of their family have and still struggle with addiction. Eddie’s mother was in jail for cocaine use at the time of his birth, and Cora’s mother died from a heroin overdose.
“I am most proud that I have broken the family tradition of bringing kids up in a drug-filled home. I don’t want my daughter to see how I was,” said Eddie.
Eddie shared that he started using drugs when he was 9-years old and was on and off different substances throughout his life. He and Cora met when he was 18, she was 17, and have been together for 10 years, married for five years. Drugs were a big part of their past, but they have turned their lives around to give their daughter a very different childhood than what they experienced growing up.
Eddie is also proud that he is working hard to give his daughter and his wife everything they need. After staying clean for several months, he was able to get his old job back maintaining heavy machinery in a cast iron factory. Eddie’s family is now on his private health insurance and he has kept up with his car payments and housing payments.
Nurse Michelle remarks, “Eddie is doing it! He is doing everything he said he would do and others said he couldn’t do.”
"Since Emma was born, everything
turned around.”
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