After her sister’s birth, senior Charlotte Muttai finds passion in pediatrics

Prior to her sister’s birth, senior Charlotte Muttai had wished to pursue medicine, since six of her family members work in the medical field. Two years ago, her sister Arianna Muttai was born four months premature after an emergency C-section procedure.

After the critical experience, Charlotte found interest in the nursing of premature babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Shawnee Mission Medical Center and began volunteering there last summer.

“The environment that [Arianna] was in and seeing how they take care of the kids like they’re their own was really cool,” Charlotte said. “They are really invested in each [person] that comes through.”

According to her mother Annalyne Muttai, Charlotte didn’t intend on studying pediatrics until she watched the doctors in the NICU working with premature babies.

“She never stated that she wanted to work with little kids; she just wanted to be a doctor,” Annalyne said “After [Arianna] was born and out of the hospital, [Charlotte] saw what the doctors were doing [to help Arianna] and that solidified what she wanted to do. Right away, she wanted to work with children.”

Due to the early pregnancy, Annalyne was on bed rest at the hospital, causing Charlotte to acquire more responsibilities within the household.

“For that period, I was at the hospital and my husband had to go to work, so Charlotte stepped up and took care of most of the things in the house [including taking] care of [her brothers],” Annalyne said. “She stepped up right away into a huge [role] model and helped with everything in the house.”

Charlotte said that the addition to the family caused a slight change in her home’s atmosphere.

“There’s one more person in the house, so each person has to take on more responsibility,” Charlotte said. “There’s another person that’s depending on you. We have to coordinate to make sure she is taken care of.”

Nearly every Saturday, Charlotte volunteers at Shawnee Mission Birth Center in the NICU department to gain experience in the field.

“I’m able to see what they do [in NICU]. I work up front, and I’ll also help the nurses sometimes,” Charlotte said. “I was kind of lucky that I got the position because there were a lot of volunteers and they just set you where [there is] need.”

By volunteering at the NICU, Charlotte said that she is able to connect with the families that come in due to the mutual concern for the children.

“You get to experience how the families are feeling,” Charlotte said. “Because there’s a balance between life and death before they go into the NICU, once the babies come to the NICU, it’s a sigh of relief.”

Charlotte said that she is looking into the University of Kansas for college, since the medical school and medical hospital would allow an easy transition between college and the working force. Annalyne strongly supports Charlotte’s decision and hopes the best for her.

“I think it’s an excellent choice. We are encouraging her in hoping she goes that route. It’s a good career, and we have confidence she can do it,” Annalyne said. “I hope she’s successful in whatever she does. [I hope she] never gives up and always goes for what she wants.”

Since she is 15 years older than her younger sister, Charlotte said that when Arianna grows up, she hopes Arianna will have Charlotte as a person to admire and look up to.

“[I love] being there for her and sharing my experiences with her and her learning from me,” Charlotte said. “It makes me happy because then I know I impacted her and that means I did something good as a sister.”