Our son was born and was immediately transferred to the NICU following a few complications. During this time I (the father) needed to leave my wife and go to the NICU with my son. While at the NICU I was informed of the situation and was told that our son would likely need to stay for around a week and receive fairly invasive treatment. This shook me to my core and was one of the most difficult situations I have ever been in.
I was able to hold it together while it was just my son and I but on the arrival of my wife (she wasn't yet fully aware of the situation) I lost control of my emotions. We were then asked to leave our son and let the team start the treatment.
My wife went back to our room for recovery and I was left trying to figure out what to do. Izabela noticed that I was distraught and lost and came up to ask me how I was doing and where I needed to be. I just responded with, "I don't know," and continued to break down. She took me by the arm, asked me to come with her, and escorted me to our room. She then proceeded to sit and cry with me while encouraging me the whole time.
While never being formally assigned to our son's care, throughout the duration of our 6-day stay, Izabela continued to go out of her way to provide support to my wife, myself, and our son in immeasurable ways. She went above and beyond in showing compassion and empathy in the care for myself and my family. I cannot thank her enough and will be forever grateful. This nomination in no way should diminish the contribution of the entire NICU team. The care for our son was incredible and all of the nurses involved could not have been more loving, caring, and supportive.