The rug was ripped out from under me when my healthy pregnancy came to an abrupt end at 27 weeks gestation when my first-born child came into the world. From there he spent 87 difficult days in the NICU. His primary nurse, Shelbie Delaney, met my baby on his second day of life, and from there she became my lifeline. My husband wasn’t able to be present during my son's NICU stay and Shelbie saw that, and she stepped in to not only provide top-of-the-line care for my child but took so much time helping me through the experience as well. She gave me faith that my baby was going to be okay, on days that I couldn’t convince myself that it was true. In the 3 months, we went through multiple different scary diagnoses and two surgeries, one of which was a PDA Ligation. The thought of my 3lb baby having surgery this invasive was unbearable. Shelbie didn’t hesitate when she heard the news of the surgery, she went out of her way to switch her entire schedule and work on her day off so she could be with my child. She sat by my side and listened to me cry day after day because I wanted my baby home. He was finally released home on oxygen support so he could continue to grow and heal at home. He is now approaching his first birthday in March, and he has been successfully discharged from all preemie-associated specialists and is off of oxygen support. I truly don’t know if he would be thriving if it wasn’t for Shelbie. In my 4 years in healthcare, I have had the pleasure of working with so many great nurses in an outpatient practice, but Shelbie was so much more than any nurse I’ve ever seen. She went above and beyond and truly saved my baby's life.