Our baby boy had a BT shunt placed on his tiny heart by the amazing and talented Congenital Heart Surgical Team. During his multi-week stay, the Congenital Intensive Care Unit staff’s extensive experience, knowledge, and passion showed every single day. Even with the daily shift rotation of different doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and nurse technicians, our son consistently received high-quality care. Within this impeccable team, Mary Scarborough made an unforgettable impression and impact on our family.

From the start, Mary treated our baby boy with such warmth and adoration. There were several moments that I witnessed Mary comforting our son, and each one pulled on my heartstrings. Our son received Mary’s serenades, cuddles, gentle rockings, encouragements, and lessons about the animals (mostly the giraffe) spinning on his mobile. Seeing our baby in discomfort with tubes in him, meds pushed in him, and blood taken from him daily while standing on the sidelines helpless is one of the hardest things we have ever experienced. The only thing we as parents could do was support and comfort him so to see a stranger give our baby the same love and attention was very touching.

In addition to soothing our baby, Mary’s experience kept our son medicinally comfortable. There was a day that he was irritable and restless, and none of our techniques helped him get much-needed sleep. Through her observations, Mary suggested that he could be having stomach issues so she discussed this with the doctors and nurse practitioners to get him medicine to relieve his discomfort. Not long after he was given the medication, we saw his body begin to relax. He was finally able to fall asleep. This was one of the many times Mary advocated for our son. She always made it a point to be vocal about his needs and our concerns.

Not only did she care for our son, but every time she saw us, she checked in. “How are you doing?” “Did you get some rest?” “Did you eat yet?” She reminded us to take care of ourselves so that we could take care of our son.

On the day of a sudden unexpected regression in our son’s recovery, Mary came to visit us after her shift was over to make sure we were okay. She could have easily gone home, but she chose to use her personal time to check on us. It was her visit and comforting words that allowed us to finally breathe that day.

Mary became a reassuring presence and a trusted advisor during our time at the hospital. When we were hesitant to learn how to place an NG tube in our son. She gave us the pep talk and advice we needed. The sound advice she provided: “Part of parenting is doing things to and for your kids that they won’t like but you know they need it so you do it for them. And, that is not just right now, but you will do that for him for the rest of his life.” That advice washed away our hesitancy to learn and suck it up and do it for our baby boy. And, of course, she was a great teacher. She thoroughly walked us through the process step by step. We are so thankful Mary was working that weekend because we would not have been able to put the NG tube in our baby boy without her.

We are so thankful for Mary. We thank her for going above and beyond to care for our little one, and we will never forget her compassion and kindness.