You're never prepared for what you're going to experience as a new parent. You're definitely not prepared for someone to tell you that your baby must leave you and start spending the night in an isolette and that you can't go with them. You're even less prepared to be told that, after forty plus hours of being awake, a large abdominal surgery and the emotional roller coaster that follows delivering your brand-new miracle, that you won't be able to hold your baby. Or feed your baby.
Enter Debbie Potenziani: Despite having a full, and quite busy, patient assignment, she made sure that our first days with our baby were as "normal" as possible. Despite the hesitation of others, she let me hold our son and worked with me tirelessly to breastfeed him. She coached and encouraged me. Those kind words were some of the first that made me feel that I didn't do something wrong that put my son in this situation. She was patient and kind. I can't imagine someone who embodies the caring and nurturing nature of a true DAISY nurse more. As a mother, there aren't enough words to say, "Thank You".