Sophia Race
October 2024
Sophia
Race
,
RN, BSN
NICU
St. Joseph's Hospital
Syracuse
,
NY
United States
Sophia grabbed my daughter and managed the event with such grace that it made me feel so calm that she was going to be okay.
My twin girls were born at 33 weeks and were in the NICU for just over 3 weeks. Sophia was one of our night NICU nurses throughout our NICU stay. I am here to nominate her not only for her talent, care, and compassionate personality as a nurse but also for a specific night that happened in the NICU that forever impacted my life.
On this specific night, my G, or “Twin A” as the NICU had on her crib, had just been given a bath and I was feeding her bottle and she started to have a choking episode that caused her heart rate and oxygen to drop. It was one of the most terrifying things that I have ever been through. Seeing my daughter have this event was so traumatic. In the NICU, these events are normal as the babies are born early and must develop their suck, swallow, and breathe reflexes. I have been an RN for over 8 years, and over five of those years being in the Emergency Department. I like to think that I have seen everything and seen many stressful situations like this in my years as a nurse, but seeing your own daughter going through something like this, I just froze. I could not react or do anything, I felt like a horrible parent because I could not act fast or do anything at that moment to manage this situation that was happening. Sophia grabbed my daughter and managed the event with such grace that it made me feel so calm that she was going to be okay.
After this episode, my daughter vomited and needed to have stimulation to breathe and was put back in her incubator to rest. Sophia reacted so quickly that my daughter was completely fine, but seeing her like that was so scary. I just remember looking at my daughter through her incubator and crying because I felt like the worst parent ever. Sophia came over to me and gave me a hug, asked if I was okay, and reassured me it was nothing that I did that caused this, and this is a common occurrence with preterm babies. That small gesture made this situation less scary and made me feel so calm and comfortable. This moment will forever be engraved in my head. Sophia is a DAISY Nurse for many reasons, but this event especially. She is a definition of an extraordinary and compassionate nurse.
On this specific night, my G, or “Twin A” as the NICU had on her crib, had just been given a bath and I was feeding her bottle and she started to have a choking episode that caused her heart rate and oxygen to drop. It was one of the most terrifying things that I have ever been through. Seeing my daughter have this event was so traumatic. In the NICU, these events are normal as the babies are born early and must develop their suck, swallow, and breathe reflexes. I have been an RN for over 8 years, and over five of those years being in the Emergency Department. I like to think that I have seen everything and seen many stressful situations like this in my years as a nurse, but seeing your own daughter going through something like this, I just froze. I could not react or do anything, I felt like a horrible parent because I could not act fast or do anything at that moment to manage this situation that was happening. Sophia grabbed my daughter and managed the event with such grace that it made me feel so calm that she was going to be okay.
After this episode, my daughter vomited and needed to have stimulation to breathe and was put back in her incubator to rest. Sophia reacted so quickly that my daughter was completely fine, but seeing her like that was so scary. I just remember looking at my daughter through her incubator and crying because I felt like the worst parent ever. Sophia came over to me and gave me a hug, asked if I was okay, and reassured me it was nothing that I did that caused this, and this is a common occurrence with preterm babies. That small gesture made this situation less scary and made me feel so calm and comfortable. This moment will forever be engraved in my head. Sophia is a DAISY Nurse for many reasons, but this event especially. She is a definition of an extraordinary and compassionate nurse.