This nomination is coming incredibly late, but my husband and I welcomed our first baby boy two months ago at the AdventHealth Birth Center. We were admitted for induction on Monday night and our son H wasn’t born until 12:04 am on Wednesday. We were so incredibly lucky to have had Natalie as our nurse on Monday night and again on Wednesday night to begin the process and deliver our beautiful baby.

Our labor was long and difficult, but Natalie was there for us every step of the way for every single moment she was our nurse on both shifts. Natalie treats her patients as if they are her own family, her own friends, and the excitement she shared alongside us as we finally progressed following a long day of waiting, the way she laughed with us at my husband’s silly, nervous jokes, and the way she supported me during the delivery portion of our stay was absolutely one-of-a-kind.

When H was born, he had some fluid in his lungs and the pediatric nurses had to take him to do some suctioning — as a first-time mom, this was scary for me because I didn’t know what was going on. Natalie must have sensed my fear because she paused what she was doing, came to the side of my bed, and talked me through what the nurses were doing, cheering H on as his cries became louder and louder. Again, I felt that Natalie was as invested in the moments of our delivery as our family and friends. The two nights we spent in labor and delivery were made better with Natalie as our nurse. We will remember her forever and will always be incredibly grateful for her dedication as a nurse.