When our identical twins arrived 13 weeks early, life changed completely. We were hours from home and terrified for our tiny boys, especially Z, who was critically ill from a heart defect. Stephanie quickly became our favorite nurse. She let us know when she was going on break and told us who was available if we needed anything. Stephanie involved us in their care with patience and encouragement. When we made the decision to remove Z's supports, Stephanie offered to come in early. She treated us with compassion at the most difficult time in our lives. We take comfort in feeling she cared about Z just like we did. Stephanie brought us an incredible amount of strength and support on the day we said goodbye to him. Placing him in her arms after he passed away was tough, but seeing her tears reminded us of her caring nature and helped us feel we weren't alone.
Stephanie continued to be one of J's primary nurses. When we weren't able to be there, Stephanie would call to check in and ask how our family was. She listened to our struggles with the loss of Z and offered much-needed support. Her consistent care for J was comforting. She celebrated his accomplishments along with us. Once, when getting J ready for Kangaroo Care, she was so focused on what she was doing that when she got him all settled we realized she was trapped against the wall behind all his tubes. We laughed when her coworker asked, "Now how are YOU going to get out?" That's an example of how she always put her patients first and worked with skillful concentration. It was hard to leave Stephanie behind when J transferred closer to home, but we have a lot of great memories to share with our son when he's older, about a very special nurse who took wonderful care of him, called him "Mr. J" and made his parents feel cared for through our NICU journey.