We first met Barb when our sweet girl moved from the NICU to the ICC. Our daughter has Spina Bifida and went through fetal surgery to help with her myelomeningocele at 24 weeks and 1 day.
A few weeks after the surgery, my water broke and I spent the next four weeks in antepartum. Then came our girl, at 30 weeks and 1 day. My husband and I have three other daughters, but they were all "normal" births, so everything was a whole new world for us!
Barb became her primary nurse shortly upon arrival to the ICC, and she turned out to be the biggest blessing! She helped us better understand our child's diagnosis and gave the best advice. Barb had prior knowledge of Spina Bifida and did such an awesome job of showing us different things about our girl, and also telling us things to look for and prepare for as our girl grows.
Our daughter was also born with Hydrocephalus, swelling of the ventricles in the brain. Barb was really honest in pointing out the different signs our girl was beginning to show that allow us to know the pressure in her head was increasing. Her weekly ultrasounds came back stable, but her head circumference continued to grow, and these signs of increased pressure were beginning to be more noticeable. This didn't make much sense to us, so Barb stood up for our girl and pushed for further testing so we could do something about her growing head.
An MRI happened next and the findings showed she would need a shunt placed to help her out. It was almost instant that we noticed such a difference in our girl, and we owe so much of that to Barb and sticking up for her! I told Barb often that she was our daughter's first best friend ever because the bond they had was so real! It's so true! All Barb had to do was walk in, say our daughter's name, and her eyes would open, and she would just stare at her in the most loving way! Barb's kindness, positive attitude, and sweet soul will always hold a special place in our hearts!