The day L was discharged, we received a clear box to put her stuff in. If I remember correctly, a nurse was thoughtful enough to have these boxes made with the help of a Hand to Hold representative. Not only that, but this nurse was also thoughtful enough to have adorable backgrounds made for milestones. Most parents can have pictures taken on cute blankets when their babies meet age milestones but NICU babies in the time of COVID-19 could not. So she went out of her way to make these beautiful backgrounds that could be sanitized to protect the babies. There are two different sizes of blood pressure cuffs and diapers in L's box along with various other items that she acquired during her stay in the NICU. For example, a handmade beanie with a bow that the nurses made for her. These items indicate the growth she experienced while being cared for by the wonderful nurses at Providence Memorial Campus NICU for 7 weeks (52 days). Now she will have a box representing the first chapter of her life. A chapter that represents a time when nurses like Czarina cared for my baby when I could not.
When I say NICU nurses are awesome, this is what I mean. But that description does not do them justice. They think about everything and empathize with the experiences of parents in so many ways. And they do all of this without expectations because things like that are certainly not a job requirement. They do it because they want to and that makes them exceptional. For the record, I think all of the nurses that cared for L deserve an award for being outstanding individuals but Czarina stood out for her incredible motivation to represent her empathy in the form of a tangible experience for parents and babies. Furthermore, she refused to take sole credit for the experience. I'm assuming the gestures were her idea and she did have the help of others but when I tried to acknowledge her efforts, she humbly named all the people who helped make it possible. For this reason and so many more, Czarina should be acknowledged. Thank you, Czarina, from the bottom of the heart of a NICU mom.