DEAR ABBY: Recently you printed a letter from "Dorothy," who was pleased that people with unwanted babies bring them to a hospital or police station, rather than leaving them to die.
That letter appeared in the Sunday paper on April 5. On the same Sunday, at 4:30 p.m., a newborn baby girl was found abandoned at the coffee lounge in front of the main doors of Legacy Emanuel Hospital's Family Birth Center in Portland, Ore.
I don't know if this was a coincidence, but we had never heard of a baby being left at a hospital before. The infant immediately received the medical care she needed and is doing fine. We nurses loved taking care of her, and we named her Star.
More than 200 people called regarding adopting her. Because of Star, attention was called to hundreds of other children in need of homes. Several of them have found homes!
Star presently is in a loving foster home, and if her mother doesn't come forward, she'll eventually be placed in an adoptive home -- making some family overjoyed, I'm sure.
We don't know the mother's circumstances, or why she felt she needed to leave her child -- but we are so happy her mom left her in a safe place. Wouldn't this be wonderful to read about more often?
I hope Dorothy's letter and this one will encourage mothers in dire circumstances to seek help, or to leave their babies where they'll be taken care of. -- JENNIFER BISSETT, R.N., LEGACY EMANUEL HOSPITAL, PORTLAND, ORE.
DEAR JENNIFER: Thank you for a wonderful upper of a letter. I, and many others, share your wish.