Our son was born prematurely in October 2020 and my husband and I arrived at Children's Hospital the next morning. After arriving at the hospital we stood in the parking lot and we felt broken and very intimidated by the long road ahead and what we were about to experience. I remember my husband turned to me and said, "this is beautiful but what did we get into?" Our emotions were all over the place and it's very difficult to explain. After we checked in and were walking down the NICU hallway we were greeted by the ANGEL whom we would come to know as Courtenay. Courtenay was the first nurse we met and she was watching over our son that very day. We will never forget how coming to know her made such a difference in our understanding of having a preemie and how much of an influence Courtenay was when we started talking. She definitely had an effect on my husband as he was on pins and needles those first couple of days. A couple of the things my husband reminds me about are his early conversations with Courtenay where she told him this experience will be a roller coaster of a ride and it's always 2 steps forward and 1 step back which would never be more true than what we have experienced. The next day my husband was talking with her and was sharing his concerns about our son and Courtenay looked at him and said "it's going to be okay just remember it's 2 steps forward and 1 step back but it's still progress dad." "Don't forget that." "These babies are strong and resilient, and my son's one of them." My husband said that this conversation has stuck with him the whole 105 days that our boy has been at the hospital. It's amazing how spot on she was and how it set the tone for our son's stay. Although my son has had several nurses, Courtenay always checks in when we are there even on days she wasn't scheduled to care for him. She is the epitome of the perfect nurse. She has always been honest with us and she is professional, courteous, caring, and has such passion for taking care of these little babies. She has left an impression on us that I really can't say enough about and am extremely blessed to have met her. Although we are happy that we will be leaving the NICU this coming week, we will miss Courtenay more than I can describe. Courtenay has made us better parents and has given us a better understanding of what these wonderful nurses do every day. Courtenay and her fellow nurses are HEROES. Thank you.