A Rio Grande Valley medical professional is giving back to the smallest of patients.

Ruth Frias is passionate about being a specialized speech pathologist and working in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville.

Her life and career have come full circle. She is now working at the hospital where she was born.

"I was a NICU baby, a Neonatal Intensive Care unit baby, 36 years ago," Frias said.

Frias and her twin sister spent three weeks in the NICU after being born prematurely.

"My mom always spoke about the stories of when we were in the NICU," Frias said. "She always spoke about how the doctors, nurses, the staff were a big part of our recovery."

She says the care she got then inspired her to pursue a career where she can help some of the smallest patients.

"Help them so they can have lifelong improvements. We want to also make sure they also have success stories," Frias said.

She says care in the NICU has changed a lot over the years.

"Back then, it was nursing and doctors," Frias said.

Now, it's a whole team of specialists.

"We have speech pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, respiratory therapists, lactation consultants," Frias said.

They are all working together to make sure their patients thrive.

Frias said the best part is these babies can get the care they need here at home.

"If they were too sick, we had to send them off to Corpus. Now, we can keep more of them because we can provide great care, locally," Frias said.

Frias says staying in the Valley is one less worry for parents.

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