My son was born at 23 weeks 4 days. Having a child is stressful, especially having a micro-preemie in the NICU. Deb was our son's nurse early on and was a smiling face we loved to see when we came into his room each morning. No matter how stressful the situation was, she never let it show. She had a calming presence - not just for our son, but for my husband and me as well. We noticed that he was on his best behavior and had the best trends on the days she was working. I knew he was in great hands when she was on shift and we could not be around. This definitely helped my worry and stress levels.
As a NICU parent, you have no control. Deb helped us to understand the equipment that was in our son's room, which made things less intimidating. She was so sweet interacting with our son and always made sure to let us know that we could participate in daily care routines and hold him whenever we wanted. We had many questions early on, and she always had the answers. She taught us that we (my husband and I) are our son's biggest advocates and that it was ok for us to speak up for him. She made us FEEL like parents.
Deb went above and beyond the call of duty during our NICU stay, whether it was explaining complicated medical procedures and tests to us, or something as simple as teaching us how to bathe our son with all of his tubes. She is compassionate and has a huge heart. She was an amazing nurse to our son, and she will forever be part of our family.