It was the perfect day. I had brought my dad, father-in-law, and brother-in-law to a golf tournament at Silver Spring Golf Club in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. After a great day on the course, we were enjoying cocktails, an auction, and dinner when my phone rang.
It was my wife, Tara. She told me the baby was coming and that she was on her way to the hospital.
I jumped to my feet and yelled to my dad and the others that we needed to leave. Everyone sprang from their seats and headed for the door. Thankfully, the golf course was only about 10 minutes from Community Memorial Hospital. We arrived before Tara, so we waited for her outside the hospital entrance, talking excitedly and running on adrenaline, anticipation, and a little brandy.
Tara arrived soon afterward, and we were quickly taken to the delivery room. A few hours later, we welcomed a baby girl into our lives. We named her Grace Lauren Grocholski. Little did we know that she would soon become known as “The Original G-Money.”
I stayed at the hospital with Tara that first night while our older daughter, Hailey, stayed with her great-grandmother Elaine. The next morning, Tara was holding Grace when the pediatrician came into the room to examine her. Tara handed Grace to the doctor, who listened to her chest and looked her over. She told us we had a healthy baby girl.
Then Grace turned her little head, and fluid came from her mouth.
The doctor immediately turned her attention back to Grace. She paused, stepped toward a drawer as though searching for something, made a quick phone call, and returned to our daughter. I noticed the doctor’s hands shaking. Then I looked at Grace and saw that she was turning blue.
The doctor bent down and began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. A shock ran through my body. I was overwhelmed by the most intense fear I had ever felt.
Suddenly, a nurse burst into the room and shouted at the doctor, “What are you doing to that baby?” She rushed past her, scooped Grace up under both arms, and ran toward the neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU.
Tara could not get out of bed, but I sprinted after the nurse. I watched her disappear into the NICU before two other nurses stopped me at the door. One placed her hands on my shoulders and told me to relax.
“Forget that!” I shouted. “That’s my baby!”
Grace had suddenly stopped breathing and turned blue. She had experienced respiratory arrest. In the NICU, the nurse and medical team worked to restore her breathing and circulation while protecting her airway from aspiration. Their quick actions saved her life.
Grace recovered and grew into a healthy, strong child. Years later, she became an outstanding athlete and helped lead the Kettle Moraine Lasers to two consecutive Wisconsin girls’ basketball state championships and was offered the opportunity to continue her playing career at the University of Minnesota.
None of those moments would have been possible without the nurse who raced into our hospital room and the medical team at Community Memorial that cared for Grace. They saved a newborn girl who would grow up to become a champion, a teammate, a daughter, and “The Original G-Money.”
AI tools assisted with the preparation of this article.