Our stay began with the emergency C-section of our 5-week early son, S. While we were overjoyed to welcome him into the world, it was shaded by S needing a stay in the NICU for breathing problems and jaundice. The first time my husband and I met Amelia was the night we had S and he was admitted to the NICU. Understandably, we were a mess, worrying about our brand new preemie. We had no idea what to do or what we COULD do for him. This was our third child, but our first needing a stay in the NICU.

I remember standing next to his incubator and not knowing what to do. Could I hold him? Could I touch him? How long will he be here? Is he OK? Is he in pain? Does he feel alone? In the midst of all of these mind-numbing questions Amelia walked in, our first NICU nurse!

I think she could tell we were overwhelmed and immediately introduced herself and asked if we had any questions. Not only did she answer all of our questions but she went above and beyond with helping us learn how to care for our little guy, from telling us how to bond with him while he was in the incubator, showing us how to hold and feed him when the time came, to making sure that we knew exactly what was going on with him after every doctor visit and helping him meet his go home goal. When we couldn't be there for a feeding Amelia would feed him and talk to him. I loved watching her interact with S; you would have thought he was a family member.

No matter how many times I asked the same questions "Is he breathing ok? Did he spit up any last night? Do we think he is close to going home?" Amelia answered them every single time. She was never negative; she never made us feel uncomfortable or unsure about anything. Anytime S had a problem, be it breathing, feeding tube issues, spitting up, jaundice, Amelia would fly in and immediately knew what to do. What a relief to have a nurse with such great skills and confidence.

What blew me away was S was not her only patient. She really made us feel like S and our family was the first priority while also giving the same excellent level of care to several other patients in the NICU. She truly is superwoman; I could not imagine having that level of commitment and dedication to such an inherently stressful job.

Amelia was our first NICU nurse and she was also our last NICU nurse. She was there when S was discharged; again answering this nervous mama's numerous questions. She helped us get him dressed and bundled in his car seat (it was snowing outside). Then Amelia, S and I all walked down to meet my husband with the warm car awaiting. I know when we hugged Amelia goodbye that we said "thank you". I, however, could spend the rest of my life saying "thank you" and it still wouldn't be enough. How can you thank someone enough for helping your family walk through such a dark and scary time? I can't; but I believe, if anyone, Amelia Wilson deserves the DAISY Award. Amelia is the epitome of what you describe as having "clinical expertise and extraordinary compassionate care".