Michelle is an excellent nurse because she consistently went out of her way to make me and my husband feel comfortable and calm during the most stressful time of our lives. Our son was admitted to the NICU at 24 hrs of life due to an unexpected medical condition that required surgery. During our 5 week stay in the NICU, Michelle's excellent care and compassion for my family gave us the strength to support our son's recovery. While there are many deserving nurses that we met during our time in the NICU, Michelle stands out due to her optimism, compassion, and high level of care that she provided to our son.

Michelle immediately made a connection with our son, even before we arrived at Children's. She saw him come in with the transport team from Good Samaritan Hospital and signed up to be his primary nurse right away. As soon as she was able, Michelle would dress him in clothes that we brought in and style his long, dark hair in a mohawk style that she knew I liked. Michelle would always interact with our son while she was with him, especially during his evaluation times or while she was doing a task that he didn't particularly like. She would talk and smile at him. He just adored Michelle! It really put me and my husband at ease knowing that if we weren't able to be at the bedside Michelle was there making sure that he was loved and cared for. We felt so connected with Michelle, that both my husband and I cried when we were discharged from the hospital. We knew that our family, especially our son, would miss seeing Michelle every day.

From day one, Michelle began to cover discharge education. She started early with education so that we felt we were consistently working towards going home, even at the very beginning when we had a long way to go. Michelle was always able to explain things in terms we could understand. Often she would catch herself speaking in "medical jargon" and quickly explain in layman's terms. We found this super helpful and it made us feel as if we understood every aspect of our son's condition and care plan. If there was ever a time where Michelle couldn't answer one of our questions (which was rare), she wouldn't hesitate to call someone to stop by that could answer it.

Michelle's personality is infectious. There were days where I didn't want to come in because it was just too sad to see my little baby connected to wires and tubes, but I knew that if Michelle was our nurse that day that I would be able to handle it. Michelle was the first nurse that we met the day that our baby was admitted to the NICU. She immediately updated us on his condition, the care plan as she knew it, and what we could expect going forward. Those days are somewhat of a blur for me as I'm pretty sure I cried for the first week that he was in the NICU, but I do remember how she made me feel comfortable enough to be emotional, to cry at the bedside, and to share my fears about my son.

Michelle always made sure to include us in the planning and care of our son. She always made sure she was present at the bedside when doctors made rounds. He was on surgery rounds which happen very early in the morning. Often, we were not able to make it in in time. Michelle made sure to be there and share that information with us as soon as we came in for the day. Michelle also saved many special moments for when I was able to be there, such as bathtime and bottle feedings. She arranged help from lactation, OT, and speech to help with breastfeeding when it was time for that milestone. Michelle also advocated for us to doctors, asking every day when we would be able to hold our son. Being in the NICU for 5 weeks was not the birth plan that I had imaged, but I know that he received the best care in Michelle and we are so grateful that he was able to receive care from such a dedicated and caring nurse.