I had the honor of being allowed to shadow a NICU nurse recently. I was very nervous and apprehensive going in due to the nature of these patients (tiny, sick babies). But upon meeting Baylee Williams at the time clock she put me right at ease.
She had a baby assigned to her care that was expected to be born without facial features, an underdeveloped brain and not live very long. However, the baby was born with all her features and actually came out crying. The parents were a young couple and you could see the love for their baby written all over their faces each time they came to visit. The mother was discharged that day and they were trying to find somewhere to stay as they lived an hour away. Baylee and the NICU team were able to get them a room in the hospital to stay in to be close to their beautiful little girl.
They then suggested that the family may want to make some mementos with their two-year-old daughter and their baby and provided numerous ideas. The nursing team was actually going to have someone go out and buy some plaster molds to make these, but the new parents beat them to it while they were out grabbing some lunch. I watched as Baylee patiently helped the mom mix up and create the plaster mold and then get an imprint of those precious, tiny, little hands. Mom and dad were so pleased and proud. You could see the excitement and compassion in Baylee's actions as she was able to help this family with a difficult time. I know they do things like this in the NICU on a regular basis but getting to witness it firsthand touched me and made me proud of the work we do. Baylee is compassionate and an exceptional nurse. It was awesome to get to watch her and all the NICU nurses in action!