When my twin girls were born at 35 weeks, I was so nervous about what their first few weeks of life would look like. Even being a nurse myself I felt unprepared to be the mother of preemie baby girls. As my girls were whisked away to the NICU soon after they were born, I was so sad and worried. Through their first few days in the unit they had amazing nurses and doctors taking care of them, they were kind and patient and cared for our girls with such compassion we felt totally at ease.
On their 5th day in the NICU, they had Jennifer Coley as their nurse, she was incredibly kind and calming and answered all my questions. She spent time with us in the room aside from doing care for the girls, she listened to us and explained things in a way that our exhausted brains could understand. She shared with me about her own experience as a NICU mom and it became incredibly clear that this was where her passion came from. During that day my mom and I kept talking about how difficult it was to find hats to fit the girls' tiny heads. We searched all over town with no luck.
Two days later Jennifer pops in our room first thing in the morning and said that she had something for the girls. She pulled out two precious tiny hats that she had personally gone home and learned how to make just for our girls! I nearly cried. This is why nurses are so awesome, they go above and beyond their bedside duties of caring for the patient. Her act of kindness meant the world to me. I will always remember her when I see the hats in their closet.
We are so thankful for the care we received at UAMS!