friends, family and complete strangers are welcome to vote
the winning nurse will recieve a tote bag and
a $50 giftcard
1 vote per day per person please
voting closes march 3
1. Nurse Ginger- My favorite nurse was nurse Ginger at Choa in Atlanta. She was my daughter's primary nurse. She was kind, patient and so soft. She would always take such good care of her and when she was there I knew I could take a little break and not worry about someone being ough with my baby or make or vomit, give her cold milk, ect. I would watch her carefully change and fold her linens, pick colorful ones just for her, would always explain things to her and talk to her with such sweet words...it made me feel so comforted... -sasha
3. Nurse Yvonne- Honestly we loved every nurse but 1 at our hospital, but I'm going to nominate the nurse that made the biggest impact. Yvonne was our night nurse the weekend that Emma was born (she was born on a Friday and we had her for 3 nights and then on the weekends after that). I was SO lost and emotional and she did an amazing job of comforting me and teaching and explaining. She was the nurse that helped me cope the day I had to leave my baby behind when I was discharged. I will never forget her calming presence those first rough nights. -ivory
4. Nurse Brandy- Our favorite nurse was Nurse Brandy at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley, CA. She made our stay in the nicu so much better than it could have been, she was our primary nurse. She was our constant support in caring for our LO and had us taking care of our LOs primary needs the second she was in the nicu, if we were there we were the ones feeding her, changing her diapers, giving her baths, checking temps. She was our cheerleader, and most importantly she was LO's cheerleader. I came in one day and before she knew I was there I just watched her with LO. She was holding LO and talking to her about her day, where she had been, was showing her the nicu and all of the lights, and explaining things to her. It was so important to me that Nurse Brandy explained everything she was doing to LO, such as "I am going to listen to your heart now, it might be cold" or "we are going to check your temparature, it might be uncomfortable but it will be over soon". Seeing Nurse Brandy interact with LO was amazing, she has a knack for dealing with us nicu parents in a great way, and even more so caring for the little ones with such a loving care that you would think only a mother could have. We couldn't have gotten through that experience without her. - stephanie
5. Nurse Julie- Julie was ours! She went well above and beyond in advocating for us when she noticed we were having conflicting stories and care plans thrown at us. She gathered together the neo, nurse practitioner and other staff and wrote IN PEN in LO's file what her care plan was after developing it with me. Then she posted little notes all over her room so that any other nurse who cared for her had no excuses for not knowing her care plan. She was instrumental in getting her out earlier than we thought. She even gave her the nickname of "boo boo" and it has stuck to this day. We loved her so much that we are now facebook friends and keep up with each other daily. - lisa
6. Nurse Wendy- I would like to nominate Wendy at Clarian North in Carmel, IN. Right from the beginning she was one of our son's primary nurses, which I really appreciated because having a new nurse every shift was very frustrating to my husband and I. We really appreciated how understanding she was when I would get upset or have a breakdown. It also really helped that she asked us questions about ourselves and really took the time to get to know us and tell us things about herself as well. It made us feel very comfortable on those nights we would leave the NICU knowing it was her there taking care of him. On one occassion our son began to show some subtle signs of a possible infection. Because Wendy was there with him that night and knew him so well, she had a feeling that something wasn't right. After much persistence on her part, the doctor did some labs, and sure enough, there was a sign of infection. Because of her, the possible infection was treated right away and our son was back to normal and healthy again soon after. Wendy also made sure to pay attention to the little things. She always made sure that the clothing and blankets that we brought for our son were used and she was the one to help me give him his first bath. These little things can be so important to parents with a baby in the NICU because it gives us some sense of normal among everything that is not going as planned. -mrs.p
7. Nurse Mary- I would love to nominate Mary Shelton at Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland, Washington. Mary was the nurse on duty the day Spencer arrived in the NICU and was the first one I met when I was able to finally get out of bed. I had HELLP syndrome so they told me I wasn't allowed to go to the NICU for 48 hours as I had to stay in bed...YEAH RIGHT...I waited 41 years for a baby, not waiting 48 hours to see him...so 12 hours later I was in the NICU and met Mary.
Over the next 64 days Mary was not only a nurse, but a friend as well. My parents passed away in 2005 and my husband's folks live in the UK along with the rest of his family. Mary was patient in teaching us how to care for a preemie rather than just being his nurse. Mary was the one that showed me how to give a bath to Spencer once he hit the 3lb mark, she's the one that told me I was doing a great job when I would get depressed, and she would come chat with me about her family and children, etc so I wasn't just sitting there staring at Spencer all day every day as we had private rooms.
She was my primary nurse during the day and she worked Thurs-Sun each week. One Thursday she wasn't there, but the next day I received a call from her at the hospital to let me know her MIL was sick in CA so she and her DH had gone to care for her and she probably wouldn't be back before I was discharged, and she asked if she could keep in touch with us!
Tomorrow I will have been home for 2 weeks, and yesterday Mary came to visit Spencer and I at home, brought him some Dr. Seuss books and a few other presents. Mary was not just Spencer's nurse, she was our friend, preemie mentor and teacher. I knew she had been put there for a reason as Mary was also my mother's name.
WOW...why am I crying?? Hormones... - jules from WA
8. Nurse Joanne- i would like to nominate Joanne, nurse at St. Mary's Medical Center in Duluth, MN. We called her "grandma Joanne" by the end as she held a special role in our stay in the NICU. She was the one that taught us how to bathe our LO. She always treated our LO as her own, not a patient. We were fortunate enough to have her on duty on Christmas Eve, so we knew our LO would be loved and cared for on that special day. We thank you! -hcmtb
9. Nurse Katrina- My favorite nurse was Katrina Smith [Captain Smith] at the Tripler Army Medical Center, HI. She was Leigha's primary nurse in the beginning when Leigha was very sick and we didn't know if she was going to make it. She helped me stay strong and positive for my little angel. She always put on a smile even when Leigha was at her worst...which is great b/c I believe in that what they say about smiles being contagious. I would like to say that I liked all the nurse there, they were all very nice and I think they had a great team in that NICU. - jennifer
10. Nurse Ann- my favorite nurse was Ann, we had a horrible pregnancy and spent 11 weeks in a high risk pregnancy unit only to deliver twins at 27 weeks weighing 15 ounces and 1 pound 3 ounces. Three days after delivery my little one died from infection and Ann was there every step of the way. We were in a hospital not allowing children, even siblings in the nicu because of h1n1 and Ann would schedule her breaks to stay in the lobby with my other children so I could be in the nicu. She attended our little ones funeral and was there every step of the way for the surviving twin. 105 days after we came home and Ann continued to call and stop by to see our son. He lost his battle and earned his wings two days before his first birthday and Ann still calls. She went above and beyond in my opinion. -mommy to two angel babies
12. Nurse Karina- What a great idea!! My daughter was born at 28 weeks on April 18, 2009. We had so many nurses take care of Ailyn. I wanted to choose multiple nurses! But, if I had to choose just one. I would choose Karina, St.Joes, Towson,MD. Karina had such a calming voice, was always so happy to be at work. Even on our saddest days, Karina would smile and ask if we were ok. She took care of Ailyn in her first weeks and then again right before she went home 3 months later. We were lucky enough to have her 3 nights in a row. She could see how stressed out I was. She sat me down to talk to me about it. I felt so comfortable leaving Ailyn in her care.
I feel so guilty picking just one!!! It's been 10 months and I still think of the nurses and well my daughter was cared for. -ailyn rose
I feel so guilty picking just one!!! It's been 10 months and I still think of the nurses and well my daughter was cared for. -ailyn rose
1 comment:
I would like to nominate Nurse Anita, she was one of our son's two primary nurses. What makes Anita an amazing nurse is not only her competency in handling the smallest and sickest babies but her support and encouragement. It is with her gentle suggestions that we were able to "be brave" and begin to do the "normal things" new parents do but may be scary to parents who have a tiny and fragile baby. It is with her that we first held our son at 45 days old - my husband says it was like launching "Sputnik" with all of the tubes and wires - O2, ventilator, Nitric oxide, IV's etc. But she wanted us so badly to be able to do this after our son had been critically ill for so long and took the time to make it happen. It is also with her that we tried nursing for the first time and giving our son his first bath. Other wonderful things about her although in another situation may not be so great to think about - she was great at finding usable veins for all of those IV's, PICC lines, etc.
What really sets Anita apart in mind is that she was a night nurse that would often work 2 8 hour shifts. This was wonderful for us and gave us a small sense of peace of mind which is so hard to feel when your child is in the NICU. I joke with her that NICU nurses should have trading cards, so that prospective parents get read about them before selecting them - to me her dedication to helping my son and our family heal was so wonderful and unexpected.
Lastly I believe that what sets her apart is her own life experiences that she has turned into a true gift in saving babies. Before being a NICU nurse she was a MSW specializing in working with at risk populations. Then after she experienced becoming a preemie mom, where 2 of her little ones went to Heaven, she changed course in life and put her self through school to become a NICU nurse and lactation consultant.
She is awesome and after reading about the experiences that some families have in the NICU, we are so thankful for her.
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