We arrived at the PCU unit late in the night. Our son was three days old and we had spent an inordinate amount of time in the pediatric ER waiting to be admitted. As the clock struck midnight, my husband and I said "Merry Christmas" to each other as we ate graham crackers and drank grape juice and waited for lab results and admission to the PCU. We met Tom shortly after arriving at the unit. No one wants to be in the hospital on Christmas Day and Tom went out of his way to not only make us comfortable but to provide excellent care for our son.
Tom shared freshly brewed coffee and homemade cookies from the nurses' station and frequently checked on us. What Tom did not account for was the care I would also need, given that I was three days postpartum. Though I was not technically the patient, Tom utilized various resources to gather appropriate supplies for me and arranged for the lactation consultant to come to our room. More than anything Tom did for us though was the humor, compassion, understanding, and concern that Tom brought to every interaction he had with us. I cannot say enough kind words about the care we received from everyone throughout our stay. Baby's first Christmas was not how we imagined it, but Tom made it as special and as happily memorable as it could be given the circumstances. We were exceptionally lucky that he was our nurse and we owe him so much gratitude and hope he will be able to be recognized in this small way.