“When I saw this award pop up on my instagram, Lisa’s face flashed into my head when I thought of what an “Extraordinary NICU Nurse” embodies. During my daughters unexpected stay in the NICU, Lisa became an advocate for our daughter, and a dear friend to me. I was fortunate enough to sleep in a room at the hospital every night during my daughters 35 night stay in the NICU. During those nights, I was blessed to meet Lisa. Lisa works night shift in the NICU, and is truly an angel on earth. The wealth of knowledge she possesses is invaluable, but more than her knowledge, her compassion for the patients she treats, and their families is next to none. During our stay in the NICU we had many nurses who cared for our daughter. They were all incredible, but Lisa stands out the most. She cared for my daughter physically, but she cared for my whole family mentally.

I wouldn’t want to leave my daughters crib and felt being a “good” mom meant I needed to be at every feeding, around the clock. I was a walking zombie on the path to burning out. Lisa hadn’t been my daughters nurse yet, but saw me in that room every night, with pain in my eyes and neglecting my own needs, such as sleep and eating. She calmly walked over to me and told me “You are an incredible mother being here as often as you are, but in order to keep that going, you need to take care of yourself.” She urged me to sleep through the next feeding, and even offered to come to come get the milk from my room, so I didn’t have to drop it off. The sincerity in her message was ultimately what gave me the strength to take a much needed break. Lisa advocated for my daughter every day. She read her cues, watched her closely, and truly knew what she NEEDED.

So much of nursing is following doctors orders, which is important, don’t get me wrong, but Lisa wasn’t afraid to ask for permission to change things based on what she felt, as her nurse, was best for my daughter. She picked up on things that others missed, and genuinely listened to our concerns as parents. I witnessed Lisa come into work each night with a gleaming smile on her face, despite what her day looked like prior to her shift. She cared for her patients like they were her own children, she mentored other nurses that worked with her and she made parents feel supported. We made it out of the NICU through the support of many, but we are able to remember that experience as a positive one because of Lisa. I am sure you will receive many heartfelt nominations, but I truly hope you will look closely at Lisa as the recipient of this award, because in my eyes, there is no one more deserving! ”

Nominated by Sarah Jordan

“After a scary hospitalization, my doctors determined that due to preeclampsia the safest course of action was to deliver our daughter at 30 weeks. On December 16th, 2018 Sophie was born at Prentice Hospital and weighed just over 2.5 pounds. She would then spend 75 days in the NICU before coming home. NICU life was a whirlwind, we had no idea what to expect. We quickly recognized that consistency in Sophie’s care would be a huge help, both for Sophie and for us. When Sophie was 5 days old, Sam was the nurse assigned to Sophie who helped us hold Sophie for the very first time. It was a life changing moment and we walked out of the NICU that day saying that we wanted Sam to be Sophie’s primary nurse.

We consider ourselves incredibly fortunate to have Sam at the center of Sophie’s care team for the next 70 days, we’re so grateful for that gift. Sam, thank you for being there with Sophie when we could not be. Jimmy and I lived more than an hour from the hospital but knowing Sophie was in Sam’s care was all we needed to know. From calling the NICU and hearing Sam’s bubbly voice, to stopping in and seeing her snuggling up with Sophie, it meant the world to know that Sophie was always getting loved on. Thank you for advocating for Sophie, for thinking critically to help us navigate the obstacles she needed to overcome, and for always going the extra mile. Sam is a smart, talented, skilled nurse and we feel grateful that Sophie was gifted to receive her care. Each and every one of Sam’s patients and families are lucky to have her. And Sam, thank you for teaching us self-assurance, you taught us to care for her once we brought Sophie home.

Having a NICU baby came with unknowns we never expected. Over and over again Sam reassured us that we were ready to bring Sophie home. Sam answered our questions and talked us through every scenario we could think of. We brought Sophie home feeling prepared and confident and we thank Sam for that every day. Lastly, Sam, thank you for being a friend. Having a baby in the NICU is scary and lonely. Our only interactions during that time were with Sophie and the nurses. It was easy to become isolated. In addition to talking about things relating to Sophie, we got to know Sam and it helped us get our minds off of NICU life, which helped our sanity a great deal. We were really grateful to have a familiar face to see a few times a week. You are such a bright personality and always made even the difficult days a little easier. The impact Sam made on us has poured into our lives and will extend for as far as we can see. We know we have made a forever friend in Sam and that Sam truly epitomizes the Owl Give award.”

Nominated by Ashley Hinton

“Carrie embodies all the qualities that every NICU nurse should possess – not only VERY intelligent, but also kind, gentle, empathetic, patient and simply an amazing human being. Carrie has also been a champion for the Jackson Chance Foundation by recruiting volunteers, fundraising, supporting fellow participants and spreading the word about this important cause. All nurses deserve praise for their selfless work, but Carrie deserves this honor just a little bit more for her commitment over the last few years! She’s amazing and couldn’t be a better ambassador of the NICU Nurse profession or for the JC Foundation”

Nominated by Ron Armour

“Carrie is god sent! She has every quality that you would want in a nurse who’s caring for your child, let alone a micro-preemie. I met Carrie 4.5yrs ago when my daughter was born at 26 weeks and needed an emergency surgery. She was our admit nurse and I thank god for that. Ever since day 1 we clicked. Carrie was there for most of Leilani’s firsts and her bad days as well.

She’s a very smart and sweet person. Whenever we needed a little bit of guidance she wouldn’t hesitate to help or to offer to come in on her day off to comfort us. Even after Leilani was discharged we have kept in touch. She was nice enough to arrange a visit to a stable knowing that Leilani has a love for horses. I feel that Carrie deserves this award and more. She goes above and beyond for every family and baby she cares for. Thanks Carrie!!”

Nominated by Daisy Martinez

Monica Boyle was John’s (our son) NICU nurse from May 4, 2007 until Aug. 28, 2007. John, who was 29 weeks with a rare genetic syndrome, suffered a massive pulmonary hemorrhage a few days after birth and required a trach and vent. Monica helped guide us through not only the training, but showing us the joy and love with our “different” little boy. I even wrote a poem below to the AIDHC NICU upon discharge. But, Monica’s impact continues through our son’s life. John is now 12, and Monica is now the nursing manager of the Rehab floor. John went into respiratory failure in Oct. 2017 (due to home nurse neglect) and required an extended hospitalization (8 months) and another trach (after 10 years of no trach).

John was a patient in the Rehab unit for many months, and Monica continued to visit him regularly, whispering into his ear. I know John’s cues, and I swear he knew her voice. And, the impact of Monica on the floor nurses…wow. Now, there are bunch of other Monica’s! How blessed we are that we continue with Monica’s care through John’s life. (see poem below) Back on May 4, our little John took flight Arriving to duPont in the middle of the night. He arrived just fine, Anna and the others did agree Then Robin settled him into bed number 3. I first met Meg and she told us to relax And just rest our hands on his little back. On May 14, the pulmonary hemorrhage made us scared, But you all worked on him and showed us how much you cared.

We were nervous and concerned about John getting a trach, But Lori promised us it would be a piece of cake. When Monica had him moved to the back room, That’s when we really saw him improve. She taught us how to care for John, like suction, So now we know how to care for him and function. We learned so much from the respiratory queen, Yes, her name is Arlene. And how we enjoyed the night crew (Jemma/Tina/Kim/Jan), With all the arts and crafts you all do. Even though we moved to a nice room in the PICU, We wished we could have spent a night` in the new NICU. But John has now grown and on the LTV, And looking forward to all that he can see. While I look forward to all the fun, I’ll never forget what you all have done.

Nominated by Laura Elliot

“I believe that Greta deserves this award because she was just so perfect with adriel mi son when my baby was fighting to survive and at that moment she was taking care of my baby in the most caring, soft and lovely way exist. There is a lot of good nurses but greta is more that excellent and to confirm that my baby was so calm only whe Greta was touching him .only Greta was available of making him sleep holding him. Everyone liked my baby but I think my baby only feels loved by her. Greta changed our lives because when there was low possibilitys of my baby to survive she was always inspiring that miracles happen. We spend 7 months in the NICU with good days bad days and days that only with remember those hard days I want to cry and say tanks to greta because she was the one that always was there with a real smile to my son . My son has brain paralysis he is 1 year and 1 month old and is the most important person for me and Greta is in my heart because she was part of this miracle because when we arrived to lurie children’s hospital there where low possibility of survive for my baby Tank you so much and I hope that greta win this because the best persons deserves the best in the life…”

Nominated by Ignacio Dominguez

“Greta is the ideal recipient of the owl give award. She has dedicated herself to service. Through trial and tribulations she has maintained the strength to provide the best care possible for her patients. Her love for the children is never ending and no matter how stressed a day can get her demeanor remains positive towards her patients. She is also always there to lend a hand to colleagues. Greta’s passion is inspiring and contagious. I hope with this award she can see that she is appreciated for the work she has performed and how it is done”

Nominated by Dan Roque

“The short answer — Katy is AMAZING. Our son Elijah was born in 2010 at 26 weeks. Throughout our time in the NICU, Katy was with us and supported us, even bringing back souvenirs for Elijah and my even older son from her trips. Before surgeries, through infections, through it all, she always went out of her way to find a a way to let us know she was there for us. She was instrumental in helping us get out of the NICU 4 months after Elijah was born, and helped us load the car. Now, almost 10 years later, she’s still in our lives and still supporting us. I really truly feel the universe brought her in our lives for a reason. And not only does she support us, but Katy does so much outside the NICU, as well, to make the world a better place. Did I mention she is AMAZING?”

Nominated by Karen Landes

“Our NICU story is a bit different than most. My son was full term; in fact, I went into labor on my due date. So we were stunned when he was born with evidence of hypoxia (insufficient oxygen flow) leading to a suspected brain injury. There are few immediate interventions for a baby with hypoxic injury. The primary one is to literally lower infants’ body temperature by several degrees in order to prevent further brain injury. We met Jody early in our NICU days when Jonah was still on the cooling protocol. She helped us understand the medical jargon we were suddenly immersed in, explaining everything from Jonah’s seizures to his ventilator.

She delivered information gently–always allowing us to hope–and with total honesty. I will always remember Jody’s unbelievable support when we received Jonah’s MRI results, which confirmed that he had suffered a brain injury. We were unbelievably distraught, but Jody reminded us that the imaging could not predict the future. She had faith we would all would overcome the hurdles in front of us, and she was able to convey that us in a moment when we had little hope. I can never thank her enough for what she gave us that day. Recently I took four-year-old Jonah to visit Jody in the NICU. He was able to see the person who took such fabulous care of him (and us) when he was born. It still amazes me how far we have come since those MRI results, a journey Jody set us off on and for which we are forever grateful.”

Nominated by Erica Stern

“When an ambulance ride and an emergency C section brought my baby boy, Emmett, into the world at just 29 weeks my world was turned upside down. I lived by his bedside for the two months he was at Prentice, returning home only briefly to see my oldest when she came home from Pre-K. In his first few months of life, it was apparent that there was very little I could do to control his fate. It was a horrible, gut-wrenching, sensation of helplessness that I was not ready for. Enter Ashley. Less than an hour after Emmett entered the world, she showed me how to hold him while he was on the ventilator, and shared the benefits of skin-to-skin.

She was calm, cool, and collected, and unbelievably compassionate in her care, allowing both mom and baby to feel safe and protected. She was our advocate, helping push to let him try to eat at 32 weeks (which he did) and to wean his respiratory support as quickly as was safe, helping him to make it home happy, healthy, and three weeks before his due date. Additionally, throughout Emmett’s stay, she was exceptionally considerate of taking care of all of her other babies and the undocumented patients, their mothers. She not only took care of her tiny charges, but made sure that all of the mothers felt nurtured and safe as well, pushing us to get a good nights sleep and to venture from time to time outside the four walls of the NICU. Emmett is now a sweet, goofy, mischievous, loving little boy and he was given a fighting chance in large part to Ashley.

For that I will be forever grateful!! There are no words for the impact she’s had, as Emmett’s story is just one among undoubtedly thousands. THANK YOU, Ashley!!!”

Nominated by Erin Schreiber

“Our sweet baby boy, Bo James, was born at 27 weeks and 6 days gestation. As first time parents and after an uncomplicated pregnancy, we were terrified for such an early arrival. From the moment we stepped into the NICU room, the nurses and staff made us feel a little more hopeful. Everyone was so caring and gentle with our Bo, and they were all so kind to my husband and I as well. One nurse in particular really stood out to us, as she would spend extra time chatting with us and sharing stories about herself and her family as well. We were so pleased when we heard that Kelli was our primary! One morning I called in shortly after day shift began, as I was anxiously awaiting some test results for Bo. I was happy to hear Kelli’s voice on the other end, but she did not have the results available.

She assured me that he was doing well and she would keep me posted as I was at work. Shortly after hanging up, I received a text with a picture of Bo and reassurance that everything would be ok. I am sure she had no idea how much this meant to me, but it was like a weight was lifted just to see my baby and know he was in fact ok! Throughout the duration of his stay, there were many times that I would receive these types of updates from Kelli, which was more manageable than a phone call based on my patient case load at my office. When I had questions regarding his care plan or other nurses’ suggestions, I knew I could reach out to Kelli for her opinion: a trusted, valued one! When Bo had his due date birthday, Kelli was his nurse. She decorated his room, bought him the SWEETEST book and a couple other items, and she celebrated him and the day with us.

When I was alone and cuddling Bo, she would offer to take our picture so that I could cherish those sweet moments forever. When I had a rough day and was emotionally beat and crying, she would offer a big hug and make that pain ease. She would check in on him on her days off. Thankfully, Kelli was also our nurse on discharge day. This was such an emotional day for us, but I was so happy that she was the one to walk us out and send us on our way FINALLY after 93 days! During the first couple of weeks at home, Kelli was always available for questions via text, phone call and even FaceTime. She would reach out to check on Bo and us. She selflessly gives her time even with her own family to make sure that our sweet boy and our family is ok. She has truly been such a rock for us, and we are so thankful! The life of a NICU parent can be so isolating and depressing, and we were so lucky to have Kelli there to make us feel less anxious and more comfortable in our situation and caring for our micro-preemie. She truly is an angel on earth!”

Nominated by Marissa Fluture

“Corina was a staple of our time at Luries. She was the day nurse for 4 of our 7 days. Through a very stressful and trying time, she always managed to stay cool, calm and collected. She would patient answer questions and make jokes to help us pass the time, especially when there would be tension and silence as we all just watched the monitors trying to see if his oxygen levels would stabilize. Shaydon loved Corina too. 3 of the days she was there were some of his better days with needing less respiratory support! Corina helped us to keep Shaydon’s room to be a place of light and with fond memories, instead of a dark place it could have easily turned into.

I of course also appreciated how quickly she would turn off the IV machines, since I told her that machine was the beeping noise I couldn’t stand the most. She encouraged me to still stay involved in Shaydon’s care by changing his diaper or massaging or moving his limbs since he was sedated. She also would remind me to eat and pump since I often would be so focused on Shaydon I would lose track of time. What touched me the most was that she took time on a Saturday to come to Shaydon’s funeral and honor his memory with us. She will forever be a part of me and my family. It’s not easy to engage with the family and parents when they have a child who is moment to moment, never knowing if they will make it through the night or not. And yet, she remained such a calm presence, helping the rest of us stay calm as well.”

Nominated by Shalane Walker

“My son was born 12 weeks early, weighing just 1 lb. Although he was doing well for 9 weeks, he suddenly became very sick. We had to end up emergency transferring him from Northwestern hospital to Luries. It was probably the most stressful day I had had since Shaydon’s birth. After a successful emergency transfer followed by a successful emergency surgery, I met Tracy who was the night shift nurse. She calmly managed my frazzled state and helped reassure me that the nurses and doctors would do everything they can to help Shaydon.

I was feeling flustered after being in a new hospital after 9 weeks at Prentice, and she calmly showed me the new ins and outs of the hospital. I will always remember this. However, what I remember most is the last night with my son, the doctors called to tell us he wasn’t doing well. We came down and saw Tracy working as hard as she could giving IVs, oxygen, and other treatments trying to save my son. Eventually, it came time, and she gently wrapped up Shaydon, and took out his tube so we could hold him one last time. After he passed, she wrapped him up for us and put him back in his bed. She then offered to pack up the room for us so that I didn’t have to go through the pain of once again taking down all of his pictures and other things. I will never ever forget that and her support during my hardest moment. Her and the other nurses at Luries truly have a gift to do their best to save your little one, even at the end.”

Nominated by Shalane Walker

“Jessica was our primary nurse at Prentice Women’s Hospital. But she was also so much more than that. She was present when they delivered my son at 460 grams (1 lb). She was there when I arrived and had so many questions I just didn’t know where to start. She patient explained each question, each treatment, and each procedure. She was so patient when my daughter, parents, stepson, and so many others always came by the hospital. But most importantly, she was a second mom to my son.

His body was so tiny and so small that many admitted he was the smallest baby they had ever worked with. But she never batted an eye when doing procedures, checks, diaper changes and other things. She also went above and beyond many times. She was the nurse to suggest putting my son in clothes when he became stable enough. As it turns out, those would be the last set of photos we had of him as the next week he became very sick. Through everything, even after his transfer to Lurie’s she continued to email and check on him to see how he was doing. When Shaydon passed, she not only came to his funeral, but spoke a beautiful tribute to him that had everybody in tears. When my son was delivered, they did not know if he would make it 1 day. Instead we had 10 beautiful weeks with him, and I know that was 100% due to the amazing care of nurses like Jessica who took time to get to know him and could instantly react if they saw something awry. Our lives are forever changed by knowing her.”

Nominated by Shalane Walker

“Our family experienced the NICU for 26 days. When we heard our daughter would be in the NICU we were terrified and sad. We didn’t know what to expect, so we expected the worst. What we found was the opposite. The NICU was not scary. It was a peaceful place full of encouragement and thoughtful care. During that time, I felt the highest highs and lowest lows, but overall I am grateful for the NICU because of the care my daughter received – specifically from Minnie, her primary nurse. Minnie cared for our baby girl every day and that’s not all. Certainly not part of her job description but another task she did joyfully was providing support to us first time parents.

She showed us patience with our inexperienced questions, she quieted our never-ending concerns, she encouraged us amidst our doubts. Minnie taught us how to care for our babe – feeding schedules, temperature readings, bottle-feeding, breast feeding, how much Desitin is too much, pumping, and much more – every day she taught us something new. Making us feel prepared and confident as parents (…well as prepared and confident as we could be!). Hannah’s stay in the NICU was luckily uneventful. She was born 3lbs 11oz, so it was a race to gain weight and keep our fingers crossed for “boring days”. Although boring days were very good for Hannah’s health, they were very monotonous.

Minnie was there to encourage us and stay the course! The big day arrived – Hannah’s homecoming. We called the hospital to find out the results of the car seat test. To our delight, Minnie answered. She said, “Oh yes, of course she passed. She’s doing great… The only problem with her coming home today is I don’t think any of the nurses are going to let you take that cute girl away!” People always said “Oh the NICU” with this sort of grimace on their faces when we told them where Hannah was. Like there was something scary. What they didn’t know what Hannah was being loved on by a nurse who loved her (almost) as much as we did. Minnie showed Hannah (and us, her parents) an immense act of kindness and service by not only going through the motions of her job; but doing it with the amount of care as if she was taking care of her own family member. That’s why we weren’t scared. We had Minnie. These words don’t do justice to the gratitude we have for Minnie and what she did for our family. She is well-deserving of this #OwlGive Award!!”

Nominated by Colleen Scanlon

“I would like to nominate Laura Hanlon, NICU nurse at Luries, for the Owl Give Award. Laura took care of our son, Aidan, for 5 months in the NICU in 2015. While in the NICU she would spend many nights rocking and bouncing him to sleep. She cuddled him comforting him through drug withdrawal and gave us detailed updates when we would call in the morning. She was dedicated and would pick up extra shifts so he could have a primary taking care of him.

Not only did she care for our son but got to know us and made us feel cared for as well. She made sure we never felt alone and that our voices were heard. She has a quiet strength about her and was able to explain things to us and support us during the NICU rollercoaster. She listened to our concerns, fears, questions, and hopes for Aidan. She collaborated with the doctors and his primary team efficiently and came up with the best plan for him. Because of her persistence and love he thrived and ultimately came home. We kept in contact with her over the years. She even babysat for us when we needed a date night.

That speaks volumes to the type of person she is; driving over an hour to our home to care for him. Every time we had a PICU stay, surgery, or appointment, Laura stopped by to say hi to us and Aidan. She never stopped supporting us and throughout his life would give us advice and pep talks. When Aidan died last month Laura was with us. She came to his bedside to say goodbye to him and comfort us. She was there for us when we needed her the most. She was there for Aidan at the beginning and end of his life. We were so fortunate for all Laura did because she gave us almost four years with him. She is an amazing person with the biggest heart. We love her and can never repay her for all she did for Aidan in the NICU and for us on his last day.”

Nominated by Audra Cronauer

“Our daughter Lily was in the hospital for 3 months in critical care and on VA ECMO due to acute respiratory distress and her blood becoming septic from RSV and strep-neumo bacteria. VA ECMO is a life saving process that pumps the deoxygenated blood out of the body through tubes, oxygenates it and gives it balance then puts it back into the body CONTINUOUSLY so the patient’s heart and lungs can rest and recover from being so acutely ill.

We would have lost our daughter if it weren’t for this life saving process and the incredible ECMO specialists that continuously monitor the machine and numbers. When Katy was there as Lily’s ECMO specialist, I always knew that she was SAFE! To a parent of a child in critical care, one of the scariest things to feel is if your child is SAFE!!! She would always advocate and fight for our daughter’s best interest as if she were her own! She questioned doctors, therapists, specialist and residents if she felt that something wasn’t the “BEST” for our girl.

She was one of the medical staff that made sure our girl was being given all of the Best in her early stages of recovering by making it a point to do PT, OT and speech therapies, even on ECMO, throughout the day because she knew how beneficial it would be in her recovery. There was one time I remember a staff member from a different specialty came to do a procedure on our daughter and began to loose their balance and almost pulled out the life saving tubes full of her oxygenated blood. Before the person could fall and dislodge the tubes, Katy leaped like a gazelle over to there and caught the person in the nick of time. (From that point on, we referred to her as “Katy long legs”.) She will for always be a part of our family, because she treated our daughter as if she was a part of hers!!!”

Nominated by Jennifer Lima

“Both of our sweet full term babes spent time in the Prentice NICU. Everett, his whole short life after being born very sick and deprived of oxygen. Little did we know at the time, but his NICU care team would go on to become our extended family. On Everett’s first birthday we visited the NICU, brought gifts for the families and staff and got to spend some time with his care team. We also shared that we were expecting a baby girl and they all put my induction date on their calendars. We safely welcomed Daisy (named for Everett’s birth flower) in July, and she spent two nights in the NICU after swallowing some extra fluid during delivery. This NICU stay was oddly comforting because we knew Daisy was okay being cared for by our NICU family – Everett’s care team. Eric, the respiratory therapist who extubated Everett and handled him so gently, was in the OR working on Daisy and was the first one to place her on my chest.

Susan, Everett’s lead nurse had Daisy that first day. Jessica, who was in the labor and delivery room for Everett, discharged Daisy from the NIC. Clare, Everett’s night nurse who we are nominating this year, and who left us sweet notes after each night with him was with Daisy on her first night. With Everett, we rarely saw Clare because we would go home for a few hours at night to try to get some rest, and always looked forward to the handwritten notes she would leave us. She was there during his final nights when we roomed in with him, and I will never forget her final goodbye to him after her last night shift with us – her voice trembling as we all said goodbye knowing this was probably the last time. With Daisy, we felt confident that she was in Clare’s care and that she would shower her with all of the same love she had for Everett.

Many of the other care staff who had been part of Everett’s life came in to meet Daisy. We all hugged and cried happy tears over her and marveled at how much she looked like Everett’s mini me. A year and a half ago we walked out of the hospital alone, having just said goodbye to our sweet boy. This time was very different as we walked out with our baby – a moment we had only cautiously allowed ourselves to imagine. We cried tears of joy that this moment was real. Tears of sadness thinking back to that feeling of helplessness and wanting so badly for our story to have a different ending. Tears of gratefulness for our boy giving us the strength to embrace his story, his sister’s story – our family’s story – including the amazing NICU nurses like our night warrior Clare who cared for us all as if we were their own family.”

Nominated by Kate Graft

“Both of our sweet full term babes spent time in the Prentice NICU. Everett, his whole short life after being born very sick and deprived of oxygen. Little did we know at the time, but his NICU care team would go on to become our extended family. On Everett’s first birthday we visited the NICU, brought gifts for the families and staff and got to spend some time with his care team. We also shared that we were expecting a baby girl and they all put my induction date on their calendars. We safely welcomed Daisy (named for Everett’s birth flower) in July, and she spent two nights in the NICU after swallowing some extra fluid during delivery. This NICU stay was oddly comforting because we knew Daisy was okay being cared for by our NICU family – Everett’s care team. Eric, the respiratory therapist who extubated Everett and handled him so gently, was in the OR working on Daisy and was the first one to place her on my chest.

Susan, Everett’s lead nurse had Daisy that first day. Jessica, who was in the labor and delivery room for Everett, discharged Daisy from the NIC. Clare, Everett’s night nurse who we are nominating this year, and who left us sweet notes after each night with him was with Daisy on her first night. With Everett, we rarely saw Clare because we would go home for a few hours at night to try to get some rest, and always looked forward to the handwritten notes she would leave us. She was there during his final nights when we roomed in with him, and I will never forget her final goodbye to him after her last night shift with us – her voice trembling as we all said goodbye knowing this was probably the last time. With Daisy, we felt confident that she was in Clare’s care and that she would shower her with all of the same love she had for Everett.

Many of the other care staff who had been part of Everett’s life came in to meet Daisy. We all hugged and cried happy tears over her and marveled at how much she looked like Everett’s mini me. A year and a half ago we walked out of the hospital alone, having just said goodbye to our sweet boy. This time was very different as we walked out with our baby – a moment we had only cautiously allowed ourselves to imagine. We cried tears of joy that this moment was real. Tears of sadness thinking back to that feeling of helplessness and wanting so badly for our story to have a different ending. Tears of gratefulness for our boy giving us the strength to embrace his story, his sister’s story – our family’s story – including the amazing NICU nurses like our night warrior Clare who cared for us all as if we were their own family.”

Nominated by Kate Graft