(CNN) Liz Smith had always dreamed of becoming a mother and building her own family, but her road to motherhood was rough. She suffered from infertility and went through several treatments that didn't work.

The pediatric nurse's dream began to come true in 2016 when she crossed paths with Gisele, a 3-month-old girl who had been transferred to the Massachusetts hospital where Smith worked. Gisele was born premature to a mother who had used drugs and the baby had resulting health problems. She weighed less than 2 pounds.

And that wasn't all: The infant had no visitors for several months at the hospital, Franciscan Children's.

But hospital staffers paid special attention to little Gisele, and one nurse asked Smith whether she had met her.

"I said, 'No, why?' She said, 'She needs a medical foster home and you two are the perfect pair,'" Smith recalled Thursday on CNN's "New Day."

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