February 2017
Johnny
Lopez
,
RN
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
University of New Mexico Hospitals
Albuquerque
,
NM
United States
Our son was born in 2016, naturally, at a local birthing center. His birth was everything we hoped it to be, but very shortly after his perfect birth, it quickly became apparent he was not breathing well. He was transported by ambulance to the UNM NICU and my husband and I were terrified of what was to come. Our plan for a very natural birthing experience quickly became everything we did not want it to be in the blink of an eye and our fragile newborn son was soon attached to an unsightly amount of tubes, cords, IVs, and monitors. My dreams of snuggling with my baby skin-to-skin and mastering breastfeeding together were shattered and I found myself worried about the survival of my baby, rather than the opportunity to focus on the precious moments of blissfully bonding and going home. We were worried and we were devastated.
On the 3rd day of our being admitted to the NICU, we were blessed with being assigned to one of the most amazing nurses, Johnny Lopez. He has such a gentle and genuine caring way about him, I knew we were good hands. Late one night while I carefully snuggled with my new baby attached to all his tubes and cords, I talked with Johnny and observed his interactions with not only my son, but all the other babies in our NICU bay. He cared for each of them as if they were his own. He would talk with the babies, soothe them when they needed a caring touch, and rock them lovingly to sleep. This gave me reassurance that our son was in the best of hands when I had to leave his bedside to go home to get some sleep, which was always a heartbreaking moment for me—to leave my new baby behind and go home. I could not have done it without the encouragement and reassurance of Johnny's nursing care.
When the time came, Johnny was extremely supportive of my desire to exclusively breastfeed my son. Our son was not able to eat or nurse for the first 3 days of his life and Johnny, realizing that breastfeeding was very important to us, worked hard to advocate with the doctors to allow us a chance to try nursing for the first time. He ensured that we were comfortable, had everything we needed, and had privacy during those first moments that I was able to nurse my son. He helped to make that moment special, in one of the most unnatural of settings. I feel that I owe our success in breastfeeding and "beating the odds" to Johnny and his encouragement.
It is easy to start to feel the effects from the exhaustion, worry, stress, and anxiety of having a newborn in the NICU. You feel that you are at the mercy of the hospital and medical professionals around you, and all you want is to take your sweet baby home happy and healthy to begin life together. Johnny was always very understanding and empathetic to what we were going through. He cared for us as though we were all partners working together to get our son healthy again and respected our rights as parents to make decisions regarding our son's care. He would take the time to explain the medical interventions being administered to our son so we always had all the best information to make the most beneficial decisions for our sweet son to improve.
Johnny is an exceptional patient advocate and always ensured that our desires for our son were met. We were originally assigned a 10-day stay in the NICU and Johnny was always advocating with the medical team to keep trying new treatment avenues to see if they would help our son's condition improve quickly. He became invested in our son's treatment and requested that we were on his caseload each shift that he worked. This ensured that we had a continuum of progressive care, and sure enough, we were released in 7 days, 3 days shorter than anticipated. This shortened stay was because of Johnny's advocacy, exceptional medical expertise, patience, and compassion.
Johnny is a DAISY Nurse. He made a true impact and difference in the lives of our family and I have no doubt that he is continuing to touch the lives of all his patients. He is truly an amazing professional and makes a marked impact on the lives of families and babies in the Albuquerque community. We cannot thank him enough for the care he gave to our son and to the babies we witnessed him care for during our stay in the NICU this past Fall.
On the 3rd day of our being admitted to the NICU, we were blessed with being assigned to one of the most amazing nurses, Johnny Lopez. He has such a gentle and genuine caring way about him, I knew we were good hands. Late one night while I carefully snuggled with my new baby attached to all his tubes and cords, I talked with Johnny and observed his interactions with not only my son, but all the other babies in our NICU bay. He cared for each of them as if they were his own. He would talk with the babies, soothe them when they needed a caring touch, and rock them lovingly to sleep. This gave me reassurance that our son was in the best of hands when I had to leave his bedside to go home to get some sleep, which was always a heartbreaking moment for me—to leave my new baby behind and go home. I could not have done it without the encouragement and reassurance of Johnny's nursing care.
When the time came, Johnny was extremely supportive of my desire to exclusively breastfeed my son. Our son was not able to eat or nurse for the first 3 days of his life and Johnny, realizing that breastfeeding was very important to us, worked hard to advocate with the doctors to allow us a chance to try nursing for the first time. He ensured that we were comfortable, had everything we needed, and had privacy during those first moments that I was able to nurse my son. He helped to make that moment special, in one of the most unnatural of settings. I feel that I owe our success in breastfeeding and "beating the odds" to Johnny and his encouragement.
It is easy to start to feel the effects from the exhaustion, worry, stress, and anxiety of having a newborn in the NICU. You feel that you are at the mercy of the hospital and medical professionals around you, and all you want is to take your sweet baby home happy and healthy to begin life together. Johnny was always very understanding and empathetic to what we were going through. He cared for us as though we were all partners working together to get our son healthy again and respected our rights as parents to make decisions regarding our son's care. He would take the time to explain the medical interventions being administered to our son so we always had all the best information to make the most beneficial decisions for our sweet son to improve.
Johnny is an exceptional patient advocate and always ensured that our desires for our son were met. We were originally assigned a 10-day stay in the NICU and Johnny was always advocating with the medical team to keep trying new treatment avenues to see if they would help our son's condition improve quickly. He became invested in our son's treatment and requested that we were on his caseload each shift that he worked. This ensured that we had a continuum of progressive care, and sure enough, we were released in 7 days, 3 days shorter than anticipated. This shortened stay was because of Johnny's advocacy, exceptional medical expertise, patience, and compassion.
Johnny is a DAISY Nurse. He made a true impact and difference in the lives of our family and I have no doubt that he is continuing to touch the lives of all his patients. He is truly an amazing professional and makes a marked impact on the lives of families and babies in the Albuquerque community. We cannot thank him enough for the care he gave to our son and to the babies we witnessed him care for during our stay in the NICU this past Fall.