Debbie is an outstanding individual. When I delivered my twin girls at 27 weeks, Debbie was one of the lead nurses involved in their care. And although she was never assigned to be their "lead" despite requesting her on a weekly basis, I sought her out for her professional opinion and her kindness to get me through my NICU journey.
In the first days, Debbie was the one who said, "Now get out your cameras because these pictures will be used when they are in kindergarten." She was so confident that my girls were going to be just fine. Debbie was always positive and reassuring that they would be just fine. Debbie was also the nurse who knew exactly when the clock hit 72 hours to follow the IVH protocol that she needed for my husband and me to hold the girls for the very first time. Debbie was incredibly experienced.
There were times that I would run to Debbie to tell her what the doctors had said, and she calmed me down and told me exactly what they meant and what it would mean for my girls. For instance, C, the smallest twin, was transferred within a week to Duke for a PDA ligation procedure. She had a NEC scare and Debbie simply said, "this is routine...they will do all this but she will be okay." She was right. I learned to trust her with all my heart. There is so much I wish I could share but I don't think my words do her justice!
Another example and probably the most impactful was during the last few weeks during our stay at Women's. Debbie, I learned was such an advocate for the babies in the NICU. She was an advocate for many of the babies who did not have moms who were able to advocate for their babies like I was. She told me early on that my babies did not need a g-tube. She just knew based on their history. Debbie believed in my girls. I had trusted her when my girls were in critical condition, I had to trust her on this. I transferred my girls to UNC to be a part of the UNC Feeding clinic because I believed, like Debbie had said, that my girls did not need g-tubes. After months of working on feeding with the world-renowned feeding team, my girls do not need g-tubes! Debbie was absolutely right. She saved my girls from getting a surgery that had life-threatening risks. I think of her every day and thank God that she was sent to me.
I watched Debbie throughout my 140-day journey through the NICU. I watched many nurses during my stay. Debbie was so professional. She would come in with a huge smile on her face and heart full of love to share with the families and babies. I work as a health professional too and I know that sometimes it is hard to care for others when you have so much going on in your life. Debbie never mentioned herself. She would always stop by my girl's room and tell me how much she loved me and the girls and how good they looked. When they came off of Oxygen, Debbie said, "this is huge." I did not realize how big it was but Debbie did and she made sure I knew it. Debbie is so wonderful. I watched her teach the other nurses. It was teaching that went beyond the textbooks, she had experience and her confidence in telling them how to do things or what to expect, made me trust her with my girls.
As I said, I would request Debbie over and over to be the lead nurse for my girls but what I realized is that I had her as my lead and my babies did not need her. These other babies who did not have advocates needed Debbie. She was so humble and kind about her knowledge and she was so willing to share it! Please recognize Debbie in the best way possible! She is a true DAISY Nurse.