Our twin daughters spent 86 days in the Nebraska Medical Center NICU. The entire medical team and staff were amazing, but RN Donna Barnes truly touched our lives. Donna was able to connect with each member of our family differently to make our stay seem less scary, less long and if possible, almost enjoyable.
As a "NICU" Mom, I spent many days by my twin girl's bedside. On days when Donna was our nurse, those days flew by. She was able to answer all of the questions I didn't even know I was supposed to ask. She took the fear out of medical procedures because she explained everything in detail, told me the risks and then very positively (always so positively) told me what we would do if this didn't work. I never worried because Donna wasn't worried. It was so empowering for me to be able to help care for my children and to understand what was happening. I know Donna taught me things multiple times because she was so in tune with me that she knew when I understood and when I didn't and all without asking and without making me feel uncomfortable. Her instincts are incredible. On the day my daughter Sydney moved from an isolette to a crib, I had made a rare trip out shopping. Donna knew how big of a milestone this was and rather than doing the move when it was most convenient for her, she waited for me to return. It meant so much to me. Once the medicine was done, the care of me really began as she took my mind off where I was and made it feel like I was just out having coffee with a friend. She shared recipes, told great stories and listened to my stories. She also treated all of our friends and family visitors like a wonderful hostess.
My husband spent three days with us in the hospital and four days at home working each week. The first question he always asked when he returned was, "Is Donna our nurse today?" He found comfort in her being "real" with him. She gave him just the facts he needed and like me, he was confident because she was confident. He loved to talk about grilling recipes with her and again his time went by much faster because Donna talked to him about everything and anything to keep his mind off of the stress of the hospital stay.
Most importantly, Donna was so caring with our girls. Y was on a high-frequency ventilator nearly her entire first month of life. Most nurses treated her as too sick to even touch her, but Donna knew better. She could see Y truly needed contact with people, but particularly with my husband and me. As she would do cares, Donna took the time to raise the lid of Y's isolette so her Dad and I could give her kisses, touch her sweet little head and fall in love with her as she immediately responded to our touch. It was Donna who was there the first day I held Y after 24 days of life. It wasn't easy to do with her on the ventilator, but Donna knew that I needed it and more importantly, Y needed it. As the girls continued to get better, Donna would do her "morning overhaul" with both girls to make sure they had perfectly clean sheets and lines and that were no wrinkles or bumps that might be uncomfortable. She taught us how to care for them and continued to teach every day until we went home. Donna wasn't going through a checklist of things for us to learn instead she was giving us knowledge based on what was happening that day with our girls. They are lessons that made us better parents and much more confident as we took out little miracles home. We never thought we would miss the NICU, but we do miss the nurses and staff and particularly Donna Barnes.