April 2026
Stefanie
Modri
,
RN
Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia
Philadelphia
,
PA
United States
She was able to get us to a private rooftop within the hospital where we were able to spend some time with our late daughter watching a beautiful sunset before we handed over her physical body to the funeral home.
My daughter passed away hours after her birth at CHOP. It was my girlfriend's and my wish that she could be taken outside with us for just a few minutes, to be in the sun and feel the cool, crisp air on her skin. When we made this request to the staff at CHOP, we were told that there was no way that this would be possible; that our deceased daughter would never be able to feel the warmth of the sun on her skin. This made my girlfriend and I almost completely shutdown. We were contemplating breaking out of the hospital with our daughter and taking our chances with whatever the ramifications of our actions might have been. Then we met Stefanie, who moved heaven and earth to make the request of two parents whose grief made them almost inconsolable possible. She was able to get us to a private rooftop within the hospital where we were able to spend some time with our late daughter watching a beautiful sunset before we handed over her physical body to the funeral home. Her actions saved my Girlfriend and me. We are people whose lives are rooted in nature and the outdoors, not cooped up in artificial environments. The fact that our daughter passed away hours after her birth and would never be able to experience the outside world had made us both borderline suicidal. Stefanie understood this and was able to relieve us of this burden; my girlfriend and I are still incredibly distraught over the premature passing of our beloved daughter, but Stefanie, in undertaking this action, has given both of our souls so much comfort that I can confidently say I will never be able to repay her. She was an angel when we needed one most, and for that we will both be eternally grateful and in her debt.