A family’s passion for care: Mother, 2 daughters chase their dreams at Methodist Women’s Hospital

Many nights in the Methodist Women’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), certified nursing assistant Lori Sofio, CNA, can be found cuddling babies, reassuring parents or helping nurses with a variety of duties.

During the day, her daughter Ashley Sofio, CNA, a student nurse technician in the NICU, is busy feeding babies, checking their blood sugar or changing their diapers.

And in the hospital’s nutrition lab, another daughter, formula lab technician Alexis Sofio, is busy assisting providers and nutritionists as they strive to set up babies for success.

It’s no coincidence that the Sofios all work at Women’s Hospital. The trio share a passion for caring for others that was cemented after Lori Sofio’s own life-changing patient experience.

A mother’s influence

Lori Sofio has always wanted to serve others. She enrolled in nursing school at age 18, “but life took me on a different journey,” she said.

She worked in sales for over 15 years and balanced raising her two daughters as a single mother. In 2012, she became a licensed esthetician and soon opened her own business. Although Lori Sofio’s health care goals may have been put on hold, her drive to succeed never waned – and it rubbed off on her daughters.

In addition to their roles at Women’s Hospital, Ashley and Alexis Sofio are on track to earn Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degrees from Nebraska Methodist College (NMC) in 2025. Ashley Sofio hopes to become a NICU nurse at Women’s Hospital, and Alexis Sofio wants to work in pediatrics with Methodist.

“I think it’s just in me that I have to take care of everybody,” said Alexis Sofio, who joined the staff at Women’s Hospital in October 2023. “I always have to be taking care of people at all times. I think I got that from our mom because she’s always done that for other people.”

“She’s a hard worker,” said Ashley Sofio, who began working at Methodist Hospital as a student nurse assistant in May 2022 before moving to Women’s Hospital the following January. “She always wants to give back and help others. She’s just never going to quit.”

That was never more apparent than in the summer of 2022, when Lori Sofio found herself relying on others to care for her.

Health scare leads to inspiration

In 2022, Lori Sofio was having unexplained severe headaches that left her and her doctor puzzled. But an unrelated medical event was about to expose the cause. 

Lori Sofio was stopped at an intersection in August 2022 when a distracted driver slammed into her vehicle. At a nearby emergency room, she was treated for whiplash and a concussion. A CT scan and an MRI found something else: a 21-milimeter tumor in her pituitary gland.

She was referred to Guy Music, MD, a neurosurgeon with MD West One, who determined that the growing tumor was causing her headaches. He and Andrew Coughlin, MD, a head and neck surgical oncologist at Methodist Estabrook Cancer Center, planned a transnasal endoscopic resection – a minimally invasive approach to accessing and removing the tumor through the nose.

During the procedure at Methodist Hospital, doctors encountered a new problem. Lori Sofio also had a cerebrospinal fluid leak – leakage of the fluid surrounding her brain. After surgery to remove the tumor and repair the leak, she was admitted to the Critical Care Unit. Her condition initially had stabilized, but she soon developed diabetes insipidus. The condition, while not uncommon after a pituitary surgery like hers, causes serious fluid imbalances and can be life-threatening.

Lori Sofio ultimately spent 20 days in the Critical Care Unit, and the experience made an impact on her and her daughters – driving home their decisions to pursue health care careers.

“Her health in the past few years has not been well, so that's been my inspiration to get through nursing school,” Ashley Sofio said. “I mean, there are times where it's really hard, and there's always that one thing that keeps you going. She’s definitely it.”

Alexis Sofio added: “I was just really scared that I was going to lose her, but it also made me realize I want for sure to do nursing. Up until that point, it sounded good in my head to want to help people. That was my eye opener that, yes, I have to do this.”

For Lori Sofio, a long dormant idea began to grow as she watched the nurses and CNAs who cared for her. In particular, Healing Touch practitioners – nurses trained in providing nonpharmacological energy therapy – stood out to her for their compassion.

That idea became a plan during her two months of recovery at home.

“My daughters were constantly coming and going from the NICU and Nebraska Methodist College,” she said. “Some of the stories they would share – I was like, ‘Wait a minute. I want to do this.’ That’s when I put all my puzzle pieces together.”

‘I have found my true purpose’

Lori Sofio took NMC’s CNA course last fall and began working at Women’s Hospital in April. She still works as an esthetician during the day, but the opportunity to care for babies and families – especially new fathers – brings her a new level of joy.

“We are that face the minute they get off the elevator to come visit Baby,” said Lori Sofio, who also plans complete Healing Touch training. “I love to be that calming voice. I love to reassure them that, ‘We got this. We're going to take great care of you, your wife and your baby.’”

Now, the Sofios cross paths frequently at work, and they’re proud to work at a place that feels like home for patients and employees alike.

“It makes me so happy that we all found our little niche within the health care system to give back to our community,” Ashley Sofio said. “I think it’s so wonderful that our mom gave us such a caring heart that we can love and care for everyone who walks through these hospital doors.”

“I loved it as a patient, and now I love it as an employee,” Lori Sofio said. “It’s because of my whole experience that I’m so grateful to be a part of this. From almost losing my life to now being able to be with these families, these little tiny babies and my daughters. It's like I'm in the perfect place. I have found my true purpose.”