My husband and I were expecting our first child when I went into my 36-week appointment and was told she no longer had a heartbeat. I was told that our daughter had passed away and that I would need to go into the hospital to be induced to deliver her. This was the most devastating news I had ever received. When I went into the hospital, I was heartbroken and dreading the entire experience. I couldn't imagine delivering our daughter and her not coming home with us.

Nikki was my nurse when we were first admitted to the Labor and Delivery unit. From the beginning, Nikki was kind and gentle with us while still acknowledging our daughter's life. At one time, Nikki had asked us what our daughter's name was and how we would spell it, at the time, I thought she was asking so she could call her by name when talking about her.

Later that evening, Nikki came into our room with something in her hand. She had ordered a pink nail polish for us to paint our daughter's nails when she was born. The color of the nail polish was called "Eden," our daughter's name. Nikki couldn't have known how special this would be to my husband and me. I had a baby shower for our daughter only 5 days before we learned she had passed away.

On the night before my baby shower, my husband offered to paint my nails for the event. I laughed at the thought of him painting my nails, knowing he really didn't know what he was doing. My husband said he wanted to practice so he would know how to paint nails for our daughter. Before we left the hospital, my husband was able to paint our daughter's nails just like he had talked about.

That moment will be a memory that I cherish forever. I will never forget watching him hold her precious hand and paint her nails "Eden" pink. I am so thankful for Nikki and for her heart she has for her patients. She truly embodied compassion, kindness, and empathy for me. She went above and beyond as a nurse, and I will always remember her for the impact she made on my experience.