An update on Dee Dee Franke
With all the comments under the GBMC parent education thread this weekend, I thought I'd give a call to Dee Dee Franke, who left the hospital recently after running new moms' groups there for years.
Franke said she would like to find a way to keep ministering to new parents. When she does, she said, she'll let me know what form it's taking, and I'll let you know.
In the meantime, she said to thank the parents who have commented here -- and the others whom she worked with over the years -- for their support. "Tell them I really miss them," she said. "I learned as much from them as they did from me."
Baltimoresun.com's 
Comments
You know, I just heard about this from a friend this morning. Dee Dee was my life line for the first three months of my son's birth 7 years ago. I STILL talk about her and her guidance. I just had my second child in May and have been meaning to get to one of Dee Dee's mother's group meetings for some more reassurance. I am so sad to hear what has happened. I am thrilled that you are in touch with Dee Dee. And I hope to hear news of her new venture soon!
Posted by: Christina | July 21, 2008 1:33 PM
Kate, thank you for contacting DeeDee personally and for your follow-up on the blog. I still strongly think the overall reduction in services to birthing mothers at GBMC is worth a story in the Baltimore Sun, as the hospital has taken a significant backwards step. However, I am pleased to have an update on DeeDee.
I have no doubt that she will find herself in an even better position somewhere in the community. Her reputation certainly precedes her and good people have a way of landing on their feet.
Posted by: Kelly | July 21, 2008 6:55 PM
I had my son at GBMC in August 2006. I was a first-time mom with no relatives or friends in not only the Baltimore area but the whole state of Maryland. My husband got a job transfer when I was four months pregnant and we moved across the county to Baltimore. For all kinds of reasons, none of the grandparents could come over to help us at the time. In addition, my husband was having a crunch time at work right after my son’s birth, working more than 12 hours a day for almost two months. Since I had just about no support after back home from the hospital, I was, frankly say, very desperate and depressed. I remember the first time my husband and I went to DeeDee’s class my son was 3 weeks old. When it was my turn to talk, I started weeping instead. At that point, I had not had any sleep for weeks and had a lot of questions on how to raise a newborn. “It is not working…” I cried and whined to the whole class. Until today, I still remember this moment vividly, and so do my friends I met at DeeDee’s class. From time to time, we still can have a good laugh out of it. Since then I went to DeeDee’s classes religiously until I started working again. Each and every time I left the house crashed thinking it was the end of the world, and came home a new woman - full of energy, love and ideas. DeeDee had practical answers to every question the other moms and I had. For a very long time, I constantly used “DeeDee said” to start my sentences; as a result my husband referred “this DeeDee person” as my GOD and made fun of me quoting her like the Bible.
My family and I are deeply in debt to DeeDee Franke. She was the reason I enjoyed the motherhood and became confident with myself again. If it wasn’t for her, I am sure I would have gone down a very dark road with postpartum depression. Letting DeeDee and her colleagues go is a big mistake! GBMC is going to lose a lot of business in the future years. I will not go back to GBMC to have my second child. The postpartum support is the ONLY thing I liked there.
This is just my story with DeeDee. I am sure there are thousands more moms in Baltimore had the similar experiences. Is there something we can do for DeeDee Franke?? I am not powerful enough to give her a new job or built her own consulting center for her, but I want to DO something. Is it a good idea to have a walk together in the park in honor of DeeDee? So she knows how much we appreciate her and how many of us are out there!
Posted by: Yuan G. Cheng | July 22, 2008 11:38 PM