I was admitted to UC Medical Center at 27 weeks pregnant with severe preeclampsia and then delivered at 29 weeks and 3 days. My son, C, was born at just 1208 grams. C was quickly transferred to the NICU and put on CPAP. Those first few weeks were a blur, but I will always remember and think fondly of Brianne. She is probably unaware of how important a role she played in C's ability to survive but I will never forget.

Brianne was on C's service for three days in a row, which I realize is not common. On that third day, she noticed that my 2-pound little boy just seemed "off". She is the person who caught the staph infection that took over his tiny body and spiraled into various other complications. We ended up transferring to the Cincinnati Children's when he was 113 days old, and he had surgery on his elbow at 14 days old. We spent a total of 84 days in the NICU and have had some readmissions and surgeries since, but I truly believe that if the staph infection hadn't been caught by Brianne when it was, I could have lost my son. He is now 10 months old (7 months adjusted) and still has various medical complications, but it could have been so much worse if it weren't for Brianne. I will forever be grateful that she spoke up when things didn't seem right. While she may have just been "doing her job," it was monumental for the health and survival of my son. I hope that she takes notice of this because I've been wanting to thank her and let her know that I think of her often. The work she does matters so much!