My husband and I would like to nominate our nurse on our journey into parenthood - Ms. Sarah. Sarah was our nurse over the weekend that we were first admitted without much warning to Children's Mercy for fetal monitoring, and her compassion and patience with us made all the difference in our stressful journey. When we were faced with some medical uncertainties and given the option to deliver by C-section on Monday or the next day, I knew in an instant that I wanted to deliver that day, simply because of the fact that Sarah would be our nurse and could get us through it. This is out of character for both my husband and me. We are planners and need time to process. In this instance, we looked at each other and both knew instantly that today would be the day to bring our twin boys into the world, based solely on the fact that Nurse Sarah would be there to guide us and comfort us. She is personable and upbeat but also elicits respect and understanding from us. She took the time to answer our one million questions and walked us step-by-step through a process that most wouldn't understand.

To this day, more than three weeks later, she continues to check on us while we are in the NICU at Children's Mercy for an extended stay. This shows me that her position is more than just a job; she truly cares about her patients and their journey, reaching far beyond just being "assigned" to them. Her personality meshed so well with ours that she will forever be a significant part of our memories of that special day.

Many families remember the details about their birth stories, how much their child weighed, or what their newborn wore when they came home. Our family will remember our nurse, forever impacting our lives and making our daunting experience one that we can look back on with love and appreciation.