Last year my wife and I were blessed with a baby girl. She was born at 28 weeks and stayed in the NICU for over three months.
Even though everyone who cared for her did a great job, one nurse stood out. Courtney was our daughter's primary night nurse. She not only took amazing care of her, but always went out of her way to explain everything in detail as to what was happening and why, and made us feel comfortable and at ease even though we were scared to death.
Some nights we wouldn't have Courtney, but on the nights we did, we would breathe a sigh of relief because we knew that Courtney always had our daughter's best interest at heart and would give her the absolute best care possible. She always gave 100% and more. She would also listen to our concerns and would try her best to fix any problems or at least get answers for us.
One specific night our daughter was having extreme difficulty breathing and even turned blue. Courtney knew exactly what to do and then stayed in with her for over an hour just to make sure she was okay and to comfort us after seeing that.
When Courtney was in our daughter's room doing her hands-on checks, we felt we were the only ones there - she made us feel very special and important. It was our first baby and she was so patient with us as we learned to care for our new baby. She completely earned our respect and our trust, and we knew when Courtney was taking care of our daughter we had nothing to worry about, or at least she made us feel that way. Her concern for our baby, her positive attitude and bedside demeanor was always excellent! She is caring, professional, and always shows kindness to her small patients.
She is one of the most compassionate nurses I have ever met. She bonded with us and made us feel like family. We believe she went beyond her daily duties to make sure we stayed positive and strong for our daughter. We did fill out a DAISY nomination form while we were still in the NICU. And although I submitted the nomination previously, I was surprised to find out from Courtney that she had no knowledge of it and feel so strongly she should be recognized that I am submitting another nomination for her.
The University of Kansas Hospital should be extremely proud to have nurses like Courtney who care so much for her patients and truly goes above and beyond every shift to take care of those little miracles. When our daughter was discharged, Courtney used her own money to get her a going away present. And since Courtney had built such a strong bond with her while taking care of her, she has kept in touch and became a resource for our family. She will still answer any questions we have. So, over this last year, our relationship with her has grown and she continues to care about our baby's wellbeing and health. One night while Courtney was visiting, our daughter was having a rough night and couldn't go to sleep, so Courtney took her and helped rock her to sleep. We can tell that she loves Courtney! Courtney is an angel for the way she cares for and watches over so many babies. So, I truly hope her story will be shared for the love, bond and relationship she has for our family and all families that are lucky enough to meet her and have her care for their babies.