ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Victoria Phan has wanted to be a nurse as long as she can remember.

  • Former preemie trained at NICU by nurse who cared for her
  • Victoria Phan now a nurse at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital
  • Phan was born at 26 weeks, weighing one pound, 14 ounces

"Ever since I was younger, my mom kept telling me that I was her miracle baby," said Phan.

The 24-year-old just started at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital.

"I want to give it my all to all these babies and to their families and I want to be able to help them as much as I can and inspire them and give all my love to them," Phan said. 

Love — just like Victoria received when she was a preemie patient at the hospital for three months, 24 years ago.

"I was born at 26 weeks, I was one pound, 14 ounces," she said.

The new nurse already has a special connection to the babies.  Now, she’s improving her skills under veteran nurses like Betsy Adams.

"Always follow your passion and the babies are the most important thing," Adams said. 

And their professional connection comes with a surprising history.

"Just like an internal connection, this isn’t the first time we’ve been together," Adams said.

"She actually took care of me on nights when I was in the NICU," Phan explained.

That’s right, the former preemie was trained by one of the nurses who cared for her more than two decades ago.

"I just remember her name and a little picture in my mind of her," Adams said.

"It’s crazy, I didn’t think that I would have somebody still here that took care of me and to learn from her,” Phan said. “I’ve learned so much from her already."

“It’s been very gratifying, I’m very proud of her,” Adams added. 

While Phan is learning to be a good caretaker for the babies, she hopes to be an inspiration to their parents.

"You don’t know what the future is going to bring and to look 24 years down the road and see such a bright, articulate, passionate person is pretty exciting," Adams said. 

"I want to go help others the way that people have helped me and saved my life," Phan said.