Every week, 73-year-old Dave Whitlow walks into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU in Virginia, where some of the hospital's smallest and most vulnerable patients are fighting for their lives. For the past eight years, he has volunteered as a "baby cuddler", gently holding premature and critically ill newborns when their parents cannot always be by their side. Before placing each baby back into the crib, Whitlow quietly whispers the same six words: "Grow strong, grow smart, grow kind." It is a simple ritual that reflects his hopes for every child and has become a touching symbol of compassion after his story recently captured hearts online.
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