This year I had my baby girl S; she arrived in this world at 25 weeks and I will always remember the first time I entered the NICU to see my baby. I was so anxious, excited, happy, nervous, scared, so many emotions, and I will never forget how the first nurse that I met talked to me with so much patience, sweetness, compassion, and care, ensuring me that everything was going to be just fine and that my baby was going to be ok. That was Jlo. I can say that many of the nurses in the NICU are truly great, but without a doubt Jlo was exceptional.
I remember the first time that I got a drop of breastmilk and it was literally a drop! When I went to the NICU with just a drop in a 60ml bottle and asked Jlo if I should just throw that away, she said to me, "Oh My God no, this is great. She will love this, you will see, and keep trying if you want to do this and you will see you will make enough in no time," and that was so true! She made me feel confident and helped me relieve stress about that. Every time S had a surgery, any kind of medical intervention, changes to her care plan or anything in every instant Jlo took the time to explain to me everything with such detail, she would go beyond to explain, searching for pictures and info to show me, making sure I had no doubt; she took the time to get to know my story and understand me as a new mom.
Jlo was taking care of my little girl, making sure her Mom and Dad were feeling fine also. She made sure I had my nicview every day at 5 am, but this was not only when she was there, but I also got to know from many of the nurses how Jlo would call them to remind them of these. She would also call just to get an update on how S was doing and to know about her. I had many of the nurses say to me, "I am no Jlo, but I will take good care of your baby." Every time Jlo was a part of the medical rounds, she would not only help answer my questions but was very proactive, inquisitive, and thoughtful with the discussion for care. I honestly could sleep better when I knew Jlo was taking care of S. All of these and many other actions of kindness and care were shown from day one. But there was something that truly made Jlo exceptional and that was that S would feel at ease, happy and show a smile when she heard her voice and knew she had Jlo by her side. I will forever be grateful for this. Thank you to all the wonderful staff at the NICU and Thank You, Jlo!