Katy Brenneman
August 2021
Katy
Brenneman
,
RN
NICU
East Tennessee Children's Hospital
Knoxville
United States
Due to her brave spirit, Katy helped me so much as a mother. She was our light in a dark tunnel.
What do you get for the person who cared for you at your most vulnerable? It hardly seems like flowers or cookies are enough. What do you do for someone who emotionally, physically, and mentally supported you through one of the most difficult journeys of your life? I feel like buying lunch doesn’t do it justice. My delivery experience was nothing short of a nightmare. It was totally unplanned. We were completely unprepared. It wasn’t beautiful like I imagined my birth to be. It definitely wasn’t something out of a Nicholas Sparks novel like I so desperately dreamed about.
My world was rocked and turned upside down in a matter of moments. L was born at 31 weeks gestation. She was brought into this world way too soon and it was a monumentally life-changing event. After L was born she was quickly placed on a ventilator and rushed away to the NICU. We didn’t know that the NICU would become our home away from home. We also had no idea how much we would so desperately depend on the nurses and doctors to save our daughter’s life. The staff became family to us, and Katy Brenneman became our hero. L spent 54 days in the NICU. She had a hard time eating by mouth and would silently aspirate. The suck, swallow, and breathe deal is no joke on the 5th floor. It’s hard. So hard in fact I recall the Doctors and Speech Therapist saying her results of aspiration on the swallow study test were, “Impressively impressive.” Words I’ll never forget.
After many difficult days and two failed swallow studies, my girl never got the hang of it, so she had surgery and later went home on a G-tube. As a parent, I was devastated. The journey was long, and it was hard, but she had a very special Primary nurse, Katy Brenneman that refused to give up on her. She was in the fight with L and never got discouraged. She celebrated when things were going great, and she cried when L had her bad days. She wanted our daughter to win so badly. Katy helped me balance my fear with strength. She gave me hope and a sense of normalcy during a time that was anything but normal. Katy always provided the comfort I needed. She understood me. She recognized the fear in my heart and in my eyes. And after a traumatic experience, she gave me support, she gave me reassurance.
Due to her brave spirit, Katy helped me so much as a mother. She was our light in a dark tunnel. Katy Brenneman was L’s biggest advocate, and I will never forget her for that. She is so awesome, and my family and I will forever be grateful for her hard work and dedication to our child. I don’t know what this journey would have been like without a nurse like her. She chose L during her worst days, and I can’t say thank you enough.
Katy, you may just be doing your job, but you’re touching lives with every family you meet. It takes a special person to become a NICU nurse. Thank you for being my child’s miracle worker. When walking into the NICU simply feels like work, remember how much you matter. You matter to the babies. You matter to the Moms. You matter to the husbands who have no idea what to do with their hormonal wives and seemingly breakable babies. You matter to the doctors as you explain each baby in ways labs and x-rays never could describe. L has a life and a future because of you. Thank you for mattering so much in our lives. May you continue to matter in so many more. Please acknowledge Katy’s exceptional work on my family’s behalf because she is truly a great representation of what people should know and see when they come to the East Tennessee Children’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
My world was rocked and turned upside down in a matter of moments. L was born at 31 weeks gestation. She was brought into this world way too soon and it was a monumentally life-changing event. After L was born she was quickly placed on a ventilator and rushed away to the NICU. We didn’t know that the NICU would become our home away from home. We also had no idea how much we would so desperately depend on the nurses and doctors to save our daughter’s life. The staff became family to us, and Katy Brenneman became our hero. L spent 54 days in the NICU. She had a hard time eating by mouth and would silently aspirate. The suck, swallow, and breathe deal is no joke on the 5th floor. It’s hard. So hard in fact I recall the Doctors and Speech Therapist saying her results of aspiration on the swallow study test were, “Impressively impressive.” Words I’ll never forget.
After many difficult days and two failed swallow studies, my girl never got the hang of it, so she had surgery and later went home on a G-tube. As a parent, I was devastated. The journey was long, and it was hard, but she had a very special Primary nurse, Katy Brenneman that refused to give up on her. She was in the fight with L and never got discouraged. She celebrated when things were going great, and she cried when L had her bad days. She wanted our daughter to win so badly. Katy helped me balance my fear with strength. She gave me hope and a sense of normalcy during a time that was anything but normal. Katy always provided the comfort I needed. She understood me. She recognized the fear in my heart and in my eyes. And after a traumatic experience, she gave me support, she gave me reassurance.
Due to her brave spirit, Katy helped me so much as a mother. She was our light in a dark tunnel. Katy Brenneman was L’s biggest advocate, and I will never forget her for that. She is so awesome, and my family and I will forever be grateful for her hard work and dedication to our child. I don’t know what this journey would have been like without a nurse like her. She chose L during her worst days, and I can’t say thank you enough.
Katy, you may just be doing your job, but you’re touching lives with every family you meet. It takes a special person to become a NICU nurse. Thank you for being my child’s miracle worker. When walking into the NICU simply feels like work, remember how much you matter. You matter to the babies. You matter to the Moms. You matter to the husbands who have no idea what to do with their hormonal wives and seemingly breakable babies. You matter to the doctors as you explain each baby in ways labs and x-rays never could describe. L has a life and a future because of you. Thank you for mattering so much in our lives. May you continue to matter in so many more. Please acknowledge Katy’s exceptional work on my family’s behalf because she is truly a great representation of what people should know and see when they come to the East Tennessee Children’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.