Our baby was born with trisomy 18, a condition that is considered terminal for many babies. Frances started taking care of our baby in the NICU about a month after our arrival and right away I could tell she was different. From the immediate connection with our baby, to her cleanliness and high level of excellence, to her fierce protection and advocacy of our family's wishes, she went above and beyond what we could ask for. Frances is the kind of nurse who is a rare gem and an incredible asset to this hospital.
From day one she had an incredible condition with our little girl and got to know her so well that if she came into her room and something was wrong she could immediately tell. My husband and I felt respected and greatly supported by her actions day by day. She took the time to thoroughly care for my baby and caught issues and created solutions for those issues effectively. If she didn't have answered for us she wouldn't stop until she found someone that could help us. My daughter would always do well when she was in her care, so much so, that her stats were always better and she thrived with Frances. I believe that a huge part of why we are able to take our baby home soon has to do with the great care she received from her.
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Our daughter was born with a spinal defect and after her surgery had many issues with healing. Due to her history on the skin team, Frances was able to find solutions and make recommendations on how to help her back heal. She taught me different methods on how to clean, care, and maintain her back from getting infections or sores. The time she took to help her and the patience she had helped calm our nerves. While making the decision to put a trach in our baby, Frances took the time to educate us on the care and what it would entail for us to have a trach and vented baby at home. She was honest but supportive of whatever choice we wanted to make. She helped us every step of the way from teaching us effective methods of bathing our special needs baby to changing her ties and trach. In many ways, she gave us the confidence we need to care for her at home.
I left one day to spend some time with my other children, (I generally would not leave the unit unless Frances was taking care of her that day), when I arrived back to the hospital there had been a fire and the wall units weren't functioning. My daughter was stressed and her stats were all over the place. Frances held my baby, soothed her, and didn't stop attending to her until she was calm and stable. Once it was decided that my daughter needed to be moved to another pod, Frances made sure everything was not only spotless, but also as private, and as comfortable as possible for us. She didn't leave to go home that day until 11:30 in the evening. She made a very stressful situation better with her actions.
Frances always makes my other children feel accepted and included. At times when they have been there, she takes the time to listen to their concerns and answer all of their questions about their baby sister and her health. Something as simple as having one of them pass her a diaper or rash cream makes them feel special and like they are helping care for the youngest member of our family. In terms of us as parents, she teaches and gives us room to put in practice what we have learned until we get it right. I highly appreciate her patience and great attitude in all she does, we will never forget her and how special she is as a person and an excellent nurse.