Our son was born in May. Within hours of his birth, he had to go to the NICU, as he was having periods of apnea that required him to be intubated. Rena-Faye was the nurse who admitted him to the NICU and managed his care during his intubation and the beginning of his comprehensive workup. We were beyond overwhelmed that day, the entire experience felt surreal and like it could not possibly be happening, not to our baby boy. Rena-Faye was amazing at explaining what was happening every step of the way. She was very patient and answered all of our questions. I work as a nurse in the CCU at another facility. Knowing this, she said to me, “Forget everything you know about adults, babies are different.” She provided emotional support that we desperately needed that day.

An especially difficult moment came when the team wanted our consent to do a lumbar puncture on L. Having worked as an ED nurse and having participated in LPs on babies myself, I knew exactly what that entailed. And I was less than willing to consent to have that done to OUR baby. Rena-Faye talked to me about it and was a sounding board for me as I went through my thoughts. Ultimately we agreed to the procedure, but I asked to be present for it. The doctor and Rena-Faye told me, “You don’t have to be the nurse, you can just be a mom right now.” They gave me reassurance about the procedure. Hearing them say that I could just be mom was emotional and something I needed to hear. I could give myself permission to switch out of that clinical space and be mom, and grieve all that was happening to our newborn baby boy.

Although Rena-Faye was only his nurse that one day, she came by to check on us during his stay any time she was working. Rena-Faye was an excellent nurse. She established a rapport with us so quickly and during a time that we were in emotional duress. We cannot thank her enough for all that she did to provide superb care to our son.