I cannot begin to fully describe the stress that we were feeling from the situation we were in. An unplanned C-section after 24 hours of labor in a place that was new to us, not being able to have our families with us for support, and the uncertainty of COVID-19 all combined to overwhelm me and my wife. We then found out that we would not be able to take our baby girl home with us. The news was scary and added to the overall discomfort of the whole situation, but we had the benefit of an amazing group of nurses caring for the three of us. I don't want to discount the rest of the nurses or doctors involved with our experience, but Maranda changed our whole outlook on the situation.
She was looking after our baby for most of the nights that she was in the NICU. It wasn't a specific situation that made my wife and I want to get her the recognition she deserves, it was literally the entire time we were here. She called us in our room whenever the baby started stirring so that we could practice changing her and feeding her. We are both first-time parents and the fact that she put in the extra time to make both of us feel safe leaving her and prepare us for when we go home with her was amazing. Literally nothing felt like it was going right since the moment we got to the hospital (by no fault of anyone, just the circumstances) and she completely changed our experience. It was life-changing watching my wife slowly learn how to breastfeed our daughter, and I truly think we would have given up without Maranda's thoughtfulness and selflessness.
I am terrible with putting my thoughts into words but we both hope that she gets the recognition she deserves. We will look back on this moment in time as a happy memory because of Maranda and the entire care team involved with taking care of our daughter. Our entire family will always be grateful.
Note: This is Maranda's 2nd DAISY Award!