I would like to nominate the whole team of the NICU and Neonatal/Pediatric Transport Team for the emergent delivery and care of an extremely preterm infant. With the collaboration of the interdisciplinary team, we were able to achieve our goal of stabilization of an infant during the stressful and chaotic storm that prevented the infant's immediate transfer to a higher level of care. All of this was accomplished using exceptional teamwork between our 2 Neonatologists (Dr. Solomon and Dr. Foster), Corrie Long (NICU Nurse Manager), the NICU Nursing staff, the Respiratory Therapy staff, the Pharmacists, and the Neonatal/Pediatric Transport Team. Both day shift and night shift staff were "all hands on deck" for the entire situation! The infant was eventually transferred safely, thanks to our wonderful Transport Team. Transfers are always a bit complex, but this storm made it even more of a challenge and everyone made sure the safety of our patient was always the priority.

***

My son and I were transferred emergently by your transport team to be admitted into the NICU. He was born early that morning and suffered some complications during the c-section. It was determined that he needed to be delivered via emergency C-section. He ended up losing his heartbeat, but the NICU team was able to get it back. It was deemed necessary to transfer over to your hospital. The team arrived and took gentle care of our son. We were then off in the ambulance. Once we got to the hospital, he needed to have additional tests. The Dr. came out to the waiting room and informed me of some heartbreaking news. He was suffering and was most likely not going to make it. Over the next hour, my wife arrived by critical care transport to the hospital so she could be with our son and me. My wife is an ER nurse. The doctor informed her of the same news previously told me. We were both devastated and within two to three hours he had passed away surrounded by family and friends who loved him so very much. 

The reason for my letter is to tell you how much your staff impacted us during our stay. Losing a child is not easy and I would never wish it upon my worst enemy. Yet somehow, your staff made the unbearable feel a little more bearable. Each staff member was very empathetic to our needs and made sure to try not to bother us unless it was necessary. I can say that without the assistance of staff, my wife and I would have struggled more than we already did. 

To start with, the transport team was amazing. Once they learned that I was a firefighter they immediately made me feel like I was a part of their crew. On the ride over, the paramedic and I talked, and he made my mind feel at ease at least for a few minutes. The NICU nurses and respiratory therapist gave our son the utmost care and we can’t thank them enough. 

When we got to the NICU, Stephanie and Michele (I believe) were his nurses. They gave him the best fighting chance and made sure that he would make it until his momma got to the hospital to finally meet him and hold him in her arms. He was very unstable at the time, and I know how rough it can be treating an unstable patient while trying to make sure the parents and family are doing ok. Without their expertise and compassion, my wife would not have met her son and we would not have had the time with him that we did. After our baby had passed Stephanie helped clean him up so that he smelled and looked nice so we could have more time with him. Michele had supplied him with the cold cot so that we could have all the time in the hospital to say our last goodbyes before we were discharged. I can’t tell you what it is like to deal with NICU babies, but I can tell you what it is like to deal with unstable patients and lose them after much hard work. These women exemplify what it means to be a kind, empathetic and professional employee and they should be commended for the work they do every day. 

After he had passed, my wife needed to be moved to the mother-baby floor. She had not received any pain medication since before the transfer happened, and started to feel some pain. Although most of her pain was emotional due to losing a child, she still hurt physically. We met a nurse named Victoria. Now Victoria was absolutely the kindest person. She met us down in the NICU to give her some pain meds prior to us going upstairs. However, when she met us, she knew what had happened and she could not help but to cry with us. During the rest of her shift, she made sure that everything we needed was being taken care of. From her medications to making her feel as comfortable as possible. Victoria was amazing to have as a Nurse. 

At the end of Victoria’s shift, we got a new nurse named Shelby. Shelby was our nurse for the night shift. She made sure my wife was receiving all her pain medication and set up the pain pump so that she could be pain-free and get a good night’s sleep. Throughout the night, she had heard babies cry and woke up crying due to not having our baby there with us. Shelby gave her the best care throughout the night to make sure that she was at ease with everything going on. On our final day, we were there, she even came to say hello and check on us to see how we were doing. 

Mckenna took over for Shelby once day shift came in. Mckenna was amazing. She made sure that she was taken care of. Any questions we had she answered to the best of her ability. We had a photographer coming in to take pictures of our boy. She made sure that whatever he needed to get the best pictures would be taken care of. Between her and Candace, our son was the cutest baby around. They assisted us in getting him dressed up and making him look great in all his photos. They both shared a private moment with us where we read a few stories to him to make sure he knew that we loved him. Through our tears, we knew that they were there to support all of us. Earlier in the day, I had gone to the nurses’ station to ask for us to switch rooms. As I said earlier my wife had heard a baby cry and woke up hysterical. I wanted to do my best to prevent another episode from happening. The one nurse who I had talked to (sorry I did not get her name) multiple times throughout the day, was amazing in getting us whatever we needed. She made sure that she would get us a room all the way in the back and away from any other patients at the time. Once we made the switch, Candace and Mckenna assisted us in transitioning to the new room. I don’t know if it would have been possible to move in one trip without their help.

Once night shift came, Heidy became our nurse. Heidy was so sweet and made sure that we also got everything we needed. She saw that we were having a hard time dealing with what was going on. She made sure that my wife was well taken care of and got all her medications on time. When we needed time alone to grieve, she gave it to us. She was so empathetic, and kind and we will never forget her.

Lastly, our last nurse Michaela was so supportive. She gave us as much time as we needed with our son prior to us being discharged. She did not rush us at all to leave. She ensured that we gave him all the love we had before we had to say goodbye for the last time. We had gotten up early that morning and played him some songs that we knew he loved. Two of them were amazing grace by Pentatonix and how they remember you by Rascal Flatts. You see our boy was a fighter and gave it his all. He gave us and all his nurses the love and strength that was needed to make it for so long. We played another song “You are my sunshine for him. When we decided it was time to leave and say our goodbyes, we walked him down the hall playing this song. It was the single hardest thing we have ever had to do. However, Michaela made sure that my wife was cared for and respected. Another nurse, whose name I did not get, took our boy as we went on different paths. We know that she cared for him in the best way possible because she promised us that. Michaela then took us on our way to the elevators to go downstairs and exit the building where our car was waiting. 

The Dr of the NICU was Dr. Eldridge. When we first met her, it was not good news for our son. She made sure that we were well-informed of his prognosis and helped make the right medical decisions for him. When we discussed privately having genetics testing done for him, she was consulted. She has a very tough job dealing with sick babies and sometimes after all her hard work, it does not end well, as in our case. When she talked to us prior to being discharged she was very empathetic and told us that if we ever needed to talk and discuss anything at all that happened, we could give her a call. 

We can’t speak more highly of these nurses, doctors, and staff that cared for us. I haven’t gone into detail about what any other person has done for us because this letter would be much longer. However, the social workers, Dr. Bowls, another OB MD, the AOD, and many more staff employees have made an impact on us in a way that we will never forget. 

You should be very proud to have such incredible providers and staff that work for you. Each one of the nurses, doctors, and staff members should be commended for all that they did for us, and I hope that this letter reaches each of them. We can’t put into words how much we appreciate them. Even though we experienced the darkest moments of our lives, the love and compassion they provided us shined a light we so desperately needed. They don’t know this, but they have become a part of our family now and we will never forget the impact they had on us.