When Her Face Was All He Needed

In the neonatal intensive care unit at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, a premature baby named Elijah weighed barely two pounds. Monitors beeped warnings. His oxygen levels dipped. Nurses adjusted tubes and checked vitals around the clock. For three weeks, Elijah's mother, Danielle, could only watch through the plastic walls of the isolette, her tears falling silently onto equipment she couldn't understand.…