libby allen, RN

The mother was understandably upset as her infant son was wheeled to the operating room from the St. John Medical Center Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. A NICU nurse, Libby, saw the deep concern on the mother's face. "Without saying a word, Libby recognized my emotions," the mother says. Libby stopped the transport team so that the mother could kiss her baby boy before he was off to surgery."Libby is an advocate for my baby," says the mother. On another occasion, Libby helped set up a photo of the baby that didn't, in the mother's words, "look like the hospital.""Libby carefully helped me put special clothes and wraps on (my son), even though with all his cords and lines it took a long time." Libby helped hide the lines from the field of view and, as the mother's friend stood by with a camera and the mother held the backdrop, Libby held the infant until he was happy for his photo."It's one thing to be a nurse and possess the basic knowledge to do this job," the mother says. "But it's an entirely different thing to fully embrace nursing as a calling from God."