Emily Childress
December 2014
Emily
Childress
,
RN
NICU
Rapid City Regional Hospital
Rapid City
,
SD
United States

 

 

 

Our baby boy ended up in the NICU when he was born in August. We had some very kind and helpful nurses during our son's stay in the NICU, but Emily still stands out to me the most. She went above and beyond in her care of not only our son, but of us as very distressed parents. She was a kind listening ear when I was in tears and quite upset about the circumstances we were in.

Our son was full term and so an 8 day NICU stay was a complete surprise to us and it was quite hard leaving the hospital without our baby each day. We would often stay late into the night and Emily made us feel completely welcome in the NICU. She would also gently encourage me to go home and get some much needed sleep which I truly needed at the time so that I too could be healthy for our baby. We spent a few late nights in the NICU with our son and Emily made us feel completely at ease.

At the end of our stay when we were facing the prospect of going home with home oxygen and an apnea monitor, Emily came into our 'rooming in' room and went over all of the equipment with us again which was especially helpful as we were quite overwhelmed by it all when the technician from Apria quickly explained it all. She assured me that things were going to be ok and that soon our brief stay in the NICU would be only a memory and that we would be happy at home with our little guy.

Our son is now finally off oxygen and the apnea monitor and things are starting to feel "normal" for us but it took a while to get here. All along I would just remember Emily's advice and reassurance that soon things would be "normal" for us too. She was very relatable as a person and made the time in the NICU easier for us. Emily shows a true passion for her patients care and also takes great care of the family members too. She really went above and beyond for us.