October 2012
Elissa
Alba
,
RN II
NICU
Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital
St. Petersburg
,
FL
United States
My pregnancy with J was extremely hectic, and so was his delivery. He was born at 29 weeks at Spring Hill Regional. After a week at Spring Hill Regional he became very ill and was transported to All Children’s Hospital. This was one of the scariest times of my life. I had so many people coming and going by J’s beside. After a month of our stay I decided I needed to start looking for a “primary care nurse.” I just couldn’t seem to pick someone. Luckily one night Lisa was his nurse. The second she walked in the room I felt better. She carried herself with such confidence and was extremely comforting. I immediately felt that J was safe with her and asked her to primarily be his nurse.
As time went on and I got to know her I realized how lucky I was to have gotten her as J’s nurse. She was Jackson’s biggest advocate. If she ever felt like something needed to be addressed she would be the first one making a phone call, finding another nurse, or bugging a doctor until she felt satisfied. She was so patient with J. He was such a high maintenance baby. She would rock him to sleep, play with him on his play mat, sooth him when he cried. She made signs and put them in his room explaining that, “he likes to sleep on his tummy, he likes to be talked to and he likes his singing monkey.”
She did an excellent job of explaining all sorts of terms that I did not understand. She would go out of her way to find me information (pamphlets) on what was happening with J at the time. She went above and beyond to teach me not only how to take care of J physically, but how to be a good mother emotionally. She had such a nurturing touch. She was an excellent example of a patient, kind, and loving person. The aspect that I really felt that separated her from the rest was that she was attentive to my needs as a new mother, who was out of her element and extremely uncomfortable in her surroundings. She made ME feel like the mom. Even though it would take longer she would show me how to do something with J, instead of taking upon herself to just do it quickly and move on to the next baby. When I felt that I didn’t know what I was doing she was the first person to encourage me and say, “… you are his mother. You will always know what to do for him.” She did not treat showing up at the hospital at night as a job, it was clearly her passion.
She made the past five months that I stayed at All Childrens a blessing. I believe that Elissa Alba went above and beyond the call of duty for me, J and my family.
As time went on and I got to know her I realized how lucky I was to have gotten her as J’s nurse. She was Jackson’s biggest advocate. If she ever felt like something needed to be addressed she would be the first one making a phone call, finding another nurse, or bugging a doctor until she felt satisfied. She was so patient with J. He was such a high maintenance baby. She would rock him to sleep, play with him on his play mat, sooth him when he cried. She made signs and put them in his room explaining that, “he likes to sleep on his tummy, he likes to be talked to and he likes his singing monkey.”
She did an excellent job of explaining all sorts of terms that I did not understand. She would go out of her way to find me information (pamphlets) on what was happening with J at the time. She went above and beyond to teach me not only how to take care of J physically, but how to be a good mother emotionally. She had such a nurturing touch. She was an excellent example of a patient, kind, and loving person. The aspect that I really felt that separated her from the rest was that she was attentive to my needs as a new mother, who was out of her element and extremely uncomfortable in her surroundings. She made ME feel like the mom. Even though it would take longer she would show me how to do something with J, instead of taking upon herself to just do it quickly and move on to the next baby. When I felt that I didn’t know what I was doing she was the first person to encourage me and say, “… you are his mother. You will always know what to do for him.” She did not treat showing up at the hospital at night as a job, it was clearly her passion.
She made the past five months that I stayed at All Childrens a blessing. I believe that Elissa Alba went above and beyond the call of duty for me, J and my family.