Julie Werner, NICU Nurse
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Nominated by Juan Wonders
Julie was Seth’s primary night nurse trough the course of his 6 months. She loved him and became our family. At night we could not be there and to know he was in her care gave us peace of mind and heart – which was rare! The care she took for him couldn’t have been better if we did it ourselves and she always left beautiful notes to walk into in the mornings to start our day with a smile. The scary went away when she was around and her love shines through him to this day.
Julie Werner made us feel safe in a time when nothing and no one else could — the moment each day we had to leave our twin daughters “alone” in the NICU. Born at 26 weeks, Morgan and Daphne spent 118 and 120 days in the NICU, respectively. Each night we left them was the hardest moment in our lives, but knowing they were in the compassionate, strong, and capable hands of Julie made it a little bit easier. Those 12 hours we were at home recuperating to help them fight another day, Julie was helping them do the same. She told us stories of the tiniest changes that she would notice, illuminated by the unique stillness of the nightshift. Julie is a special individual with an endless supply of generosity and kindness. Morgan and Daphne are 1 1/2 now and love spending time with Aunt Julie. Gratefully they will never remember the NICU, but they will always remember Julie. We now call Julie our friend and we are better people for knowing her.
Nominated by Layney McGinn