My son was born at another facility and he was quickly diagnosed with Pierre Robin Sequence and a cleft Pallet. He had difficulty breathing and spent the night in the NICU there. The next day at 18 hours old he was transferred to Brenner's Children's Hospital. That was one of the scariest days of my life. We quickly learned that he would require surgery to correct his lower jaw and would be in the hospital for at least 6 weeks. After a few days in the NICU, he was assigned Patience Huff as his RN. When I came in that first morning she had him, I saw her leaning over his bed rubbing his hair into his famous little Mohawk, she would always give him after a bath, and talking so sweetly to him. She introduced herself and told us how much she just adored my son and admitted to stealing all his love that morning. She asked us if we wanted to help with care time, which we had never been able to do before. She taught us how to change his diaper and clothes around all his wires and said we could bring some items in to personalize his bed space. For the first time since he was born, I actually felt like his mom and not just a bystander by his bed. When we left for dinner that night, I remember having a sense of relief knowing that Patience would be with my baby for a few more hours. The next day when we arrived, Patience was back sitting next to him talking to him as she did her charting. She was talking to him like he was her own child. This is the day I fell in love with her as his nurse! She informed us she had signed up to be his primary nurse and would have him every day that she was on the schedule. This is the day she had my husband change his very first poopy diaper all by himself, this is the day she helped me hold my son for the first time skin to skin, this was the day we honestly felt like parents.
Over the next 6 weeks, we grew so close to Patience. We talked about our families, our doggies, our interests and so much more. She helped me become not just the mom I am today, but she helped mold me into being the best advocate I can be for my son. She taught me things to say and questions to ask during rounds. She taught me what all the doctor/nurse lingo meant and what I should be concerned about. She taught me it was okay to go to the Ronald McDonald house and take a 4-hour nap if I needed one, she let me know it was okay to go home and take a weekend off, that it wouldn't make me a bad mom. There were good days where we would laugh and carry on while I snuggled my sweet boy. Then there were bad days where I would be moments away from a breakdown, because I was told he hadn't gained weight or he had an infection or he didn't tolerate weaning off pain medicine and they had to up his medicine again, or he had to have his oxygen upped. Those are the days she stayed close to his bed making sure that not only he was okay, but that I was too. Those days are the days I needed her the most and she knew it.
I remember one time he had developed a fever overnight and when I came in that morning I saw a little aquarium attached to his bed and he was just calmly staring at it. When she saw me the first thing she said was "he is fine, we've had our bath and snuggled and I found him this aquarium because he was kind of fussy when I had to take care of his friends and couldn't hold him". She explained to me what happened and that they thought he had developed an infection and they had started him on antibiotics. That day she went on break super late in the day after his fever started staying down on its own. She wouldn't leave him, or us. I later learned that on her next 2 days off she called both days to check on him and make sure he had got better and not worse.
Patience became more than just my son's nurse, she became my friend and his "Auntie Patience". We live two hours away from Baptist and my husband went back home to work after staying with us for a week. He would visit on the weekends but during the week I was two hours from home, alone. Patience became family to me while he was at Brenner's. When I was visiting him, we talked like we had been friends for years. She got to know my life and family and in return, I did hers as well. She would tell me before she left in the evenings to not stay too late and be safe driving back to the Ronald McDonald house. She knew that I needed someone to care for me just as much as my son needed someone to care for him. After we had been home for a few days she texted me to check on us, telling me she missed my sweet family and her day wasn't the same without her sweet B smiling at her in the corner.
Patience puts her heart and soul not just into her job, but their families too. She didn't just take the time to care for him like he was her own, she took the time to care for me and bond with my whole family. She helped my husband feel comfortable taking care of his newborn son, she helped my dad get him in and out of bed and wouldn't leave the Pod while he was there visiting alone just because she knew it made him feel more comfortable. When my grandmother came to visit she found us an extra comfortable chair for her to sit and hold B.
You see, Patience didn't have to do all those things. All she "had" to do was care for my son and make sure he was okay. And that is why she is a DAISY Nurse, she goes above and beyond every day at her job. She takes the time to bond with not just the tiny babies she takes care of but their mommies and daddies too. She knows how scary the NICU can be and having her as a nurse makes the scariest place in the world better. Her smile and positive attitude fill the room and help calm a nervous worried NICU mamma down.