Carrie Prather, NICU Nurse
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital
Nominated by:
Daisy Martinez
Fouzia Sattar
Shaikh Nishar
Joanne & Brett Straub
Tim Murphy
Kristy Sweigard
Catherine Murphy
I believe that Carrie Prather should receive this award for being not only an extraordinairy nurse but for treating my daughter Leilani and my husband and I as part of her family. She went above and beyond in those 7 months that we were in the NICU. Carrie was our admit nurse and made sure that we were comfortable and answered all questions we had as new parents of a preemie. Carrie happened to be there whenever I received bad news and would always comfort me and make things all better. She made sure I would eat and take care of myself. Carrie convinced the doctors to have me carry my baby at 2 weeks old and only weighing 550 grams. Carrie also helped me put Leilani’s first outfit on. She also made sure that Leilani looked the cutest for her first photography session. We can’t thank her enough for everything that she did. She’s a great example of what it is to be the best nurse. Carrie is a very helpful and caring human being.
– Daisy Martinez
I nominate her because she was my son’s primary nurse, she was an amazing nurse, she helped us when we needed it most.
– Fouzia Sattar
My husband and I would LOVE to nominate our NICU nurse, Carrie Prather. Ten years ago, we adopted our son, Brady. He was born six weeks early in Virginia. We were (like most) very nervous first time parents.
While Brady was by far the healthiest baby in the NICU, he was underweight. Carrie was with us every step of the way. She helped us learn to take care of him. She taught us how to read the charts, so we could “catch up” with what was going on with our son, while we weren’t there. She taught us how to feed him.
Most importantly, Carrie told us about skin-to-skin (Kangarooing). We did this faithfully for twelve hours every day. The doctors said this was the sole reason we were able to take our son home in ten days. If she didn’t tell us about this, who knows how long Brady would have been in the hospital – and us away from our support system in New Jersey.
As adoptive parents, we were forewarned by our agency that the hospital staff and social workers may not be receptive to us. This was not the case here. Carrie and all the staff accepted us as the parents, while still respecting our birth mother. It was a delicate balance that Carrie managed beautifully.
Our anxieties and fears were lessened because of Carrie’s care and support. She is THE BEST NICU nurse!!
In addition to her NICU duties, this year has been a challenging one for Carrie, as her mom had some health scares. I know Carrie would love to take her mom on this trip to relax, have fun and bond.
By the way, we still keep in touch even though she moved to the middle of the country! That’s how much we think of Carrie.
Thank you for your consideration.– Joanne & Brett Straub
Carrie has been our son’s guardian angel, our counselor, our support crew, our interpreters in the medical maze, and a teacher and mentor. She understood us when no one else in our world could quite grasp what we were going through. She loved and cared for Jack as though they he was her own, and we are eternally grateful for her.
– Tim Murphy
Carrie deserves this award because she is selfless and cares deeply for some many little souls. She goes beyond the duties of a NICU nurse and actually becomes a part of the family while caring for the baby and for many, many years beyond. My little angel’s spirit lives on every time I get a text of remembrance from her, an emoji to bring a smile to my face, or when she honors him by attending his annual carnival with her niece.
When my son, Kaden, was sick Carrie did not want to get attached to another baby because she must have had a sad journey leading up to him; however, she shortly found herself attached and committed to helping us. She not only loved and cared for Kaden, but she was there to cry with us, give us hugs, talk to us in “normal terms” and not Dr. talk. The minute heaven claimed our little fighter, Carrie showed up 10 minutes later in street clothes.
She dropped whatever she was doing and came into work to support us and say goodbye. Now that is selfless and loving. I’ll never be able to describe how she touched our lives then and continues to each day 4 years later, but I hope that this nomination and hopefully a win will show her our gratitude! As I said before Kaden’s spirit lives on through her and her good work. Just as I see how wonderful angel Jackson lives on through this foundation and award. Please consider Carrie Prather for the Owl Give Award!!– Kristy Sweigard
Carrie truly loved and cared about Jack! She taught me how to be a mother to a special baby, taught me how to care for his needs, let me take a break and feel like she had my back, showed me how to advocate for my child and helped me get through the day. She made me strong. And that’s just the emotional support part. She is incredibly smart and fantastic at her job on top of all of that! Without her… I don’t even want to think about it. I will NEVER be able to express how much I love her and what an impact she made on us. And she makes that impact every day for someone.
– Catherine Murphy