A young mother named Abby Bailiff has made an outstanding achievement, she received her doctorate degree 24 hours after she gave birth to her first child.
Abby Bailiff is a 28 year old Nurse from Thomasville in North Carolina who delivered her son, Bodie on the 3rd of May 2023. She bagged her doctorate degree in Nursing from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro in the United States.
Abby said her doctorate graduation ceremony was scheduled for May 4 2023 and she was due to give birth 27th April but the delivery date extended. She became more nervous with each day that passed hoping the delivery date would not fall on the graduation day.
She added that she ended up getting induced on May 2, because doctors were concerned about the development of her son’s lungs.
“Every day past 40 weeks I was like, ‘Oh gosh. This is getting closer and closer, it was not the original plan to be that close to graduation but Bodie had other plans,” Abby said.
Abby said luckily her delivery was smooth and without any complications. She and her newly born son spent the night in the hospital, and were discharged the next day, on May 4, her graduation day.
She stated that she almost did not want to attend her graduation because she felt she would be a bad mother to her son but eventually she made the decision to attend.
“I was still debating on whether I was going to graduation or not, because I didn’t want to be, like, a bad mom and just up and leave him right when I got home, but around 1:30, I was like, ‘I think I should really do this.’ My sister and mom were here, and they were like, ‘Well, let’s get you ready,” she said.
Few hours later, Abby said she was walking into her graduation ceremony, which started almost exactly 24 hours after Bodie was born. While Abby’s husband and her son watched from home via FaceTime, she walked across the stage after graduating from University Of California Doctor of Nursing practice program.
“Once I got there and I walked in, I was like, I’m so glad I came, it was an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment. I can’t even describe the feeling I felt. I was just overjoyed,” Abby recalled.
Abby completed the three-year doctor of nursing practice program while also working full-time as a registered nurse. She often worked overnight shifts so she could attend school during the day.
She said she completed the last stage of the program clinicals, while she was in the final months of her pregnancy with Bodie. She also mentioned that she took and passed her board exam two days before she gave birth.
“l worked really hard to do it all and to accomplish my dreams and goals, and it was all for Bodie,” she said.
The dean of the University of North Carolina, School of Nursing, Debra J. Barksdale, told GMA that Abby’s commitment to attending the ceremony shows her passion and dedication.
“The commencement ceremony represents the start of a new role or career. The fact that Dr. Abby Bailiff felt so compelled to attend her ceremony after years of study for her DNP degree represents her resilience, perseverance, passion and dedication to her school, classmates and family,” Barksdale said.
“Graduation is a joyous time and a highlight of the academic journey. We are so proud of all our students, but especially those who defy odds to achieve their dreams,” she added.
Abby is currently an Adult Gerontological Nurse Practitioner in North Carolina.