I worked beside Becca one Saturday and I found myself in awe at how she handled a situation. Her patient was very sick, and clearly not heading in a great direction. The dad was at the bedside and Becca had learned that this baby had never been held in its 7 weeks of life. The parents were really expressing the desire to hold their baby. Becca reached out to providers to advocate for her patient to be held. The answer was “no” and the family was really bummed. With the reason they were upset being out of her control, she didn't stop her efforts there. Becca went back into the room and offered to take a picture of the dad next to his child. Without seeing the interaction, I could hear from all the way down the hall how this small gesture made that dad so happy. Becca then went on to explain the use of every single medication. She took the time to explain TPN and the electrolytes and why it is that yellow color. She explained the lipids and how they help the baby grow.

An hour after this, Becca stepped away to grab supplies, and the dad was standing in the doorway. I asked if he needed any help and stated Becca had stepped away for a moment. He said he just wanted to say goodbye to the nurse, and he waited until she returned. When he said goodbye, he had the biggest smile on his face. Even though he wasn't able to hold his child, I could see how Becca positively turned his day around just by those small explanations of the meds and each item in the room.

I know this is our job as a nurse to do these very basic things, but being her neighbor that day, I could hear in the dad’s voice how much her compassion and efforts meant to him. And I found myself smiling too, just from being a bystander of this all the way down the hall. Nobody else saw or heard her kindness and compassion that day while we were tucked away in a corner from most of the unit; I did, and I will never forget it. This is our job, but something about that situation really reminded me what a great nurse looks and sounds like!