Jessica Hobbs
Prentice Women’s Hospital of Chicago
Nominated by Megan Todd
We are nominating Jessica Hobbs for the Owl Give Award 2018. Jessica is more than a nurse, she is Family. Jessica was first assigned to our son Owen on the Saturday after he was born. I remember that she was very kind and personable and we really just clicked the moment we met.
She even lived in the suburb that we were considering if we ever moved out of the city! It was fate! After about a week or so, we learned that Jessica picked up Owen as her primary. We hit the jackpot. I was so happy that we were going to have consistency with Owen’s care. Not only did it help Owen, but it helped me. The more I got to know Jessica, the more I learned from her. She herself had just welcomed a second child about 5 months prior.
As a first time mom, I grilled her on EVERYTHING! Honestly, Jessica taught me how to be a mom. Having a baby at 26 weeks really through me off guard. My body had not gone through many physical changes, so it was hard to wrap my head around motherhood. Jessica helped me navigate all my questions from breastfeeding to what kind of gear we would need, and what we could skip. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (or every third weekend!) Jessica was on duty.
As I walked through the doors each day, it gave me a sense of calmness and comfort that she was caring for Owen. She was there for every huge milestone. She was the person that first placed Owen on my chest. She was there when we first extubated Owen, and I got to see his face. She helped me to give him his first bath, first bottle, and taught me how to actually breastfeed.
She was there through all of the ups and downs and always had a positive outlook. She never let me think the worst, and always knew Owen would “get there”. She cared for him like he was her own, knew him better than anyone, and advocated for him when I wasn’t there. After 105 days we made it to discharge day, and it Jessica was who sent us off, she helped us carry him to our car and buckle him in.
I cried so much that day! Tears of joy obviously that “we got there”, but I was also sad I wasn’t going to see her on a regular basis anymore. She is trying to get us to move to the burbs though…maybe someday. Jessica is truly one of the best, we couldn’t have done it without her, and is so deserving of this award.
Sincerely,
Megan, Chris, and Owen Todd
