June 2026 Honoree
Stephanie Melendez, BSN, RN
Last year, in March, my daughter was born at Edwards Hospital in Naperville. In May of last year, she passed away due to SIDS. Having lost our daughter, this pregnancy and delivery were very unsettling for us for many reasons. I knew I would be more fearful about everything I saw or felt from what we experienced with our daughter. As soon as we got to the Mother Baby unit, several nurses let me apologize in advance for hitting the call button so much and asking several questions out of fear something would happen with our rainbow son.
One nurse in particular named Stephanie touched our souls and our hearts. I truly believe my daughter sent her to our room as our angel nurse here while we were at the hospital. Nurse Stephanie did more than the “average” nurse, and I hate to use that term. However, she truly went above and beyond more so than I’ve ever experienced both times I have been at the mother and baby unit. She let me ask thousands of questions, she reassured me, and above all else, she asked me what things she could do to help make my daughter be a part of the experience while I was at the hospital. Nurses do everything, and nurses in the mother-baby unit deal with a lot of stress and things with all of us parents. Nurse Stephanie has been on my heart for all that she did for our family and made this a truly healing experience for us. She deserves more than any award could ever possibly offer her.
Thank you, Stephanie, for your exceptional compassion, advocacy, and dedication to your patients. You truly make a difference.
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