April 2022
Sara
Gerlich
,
RN
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Ascension St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital and Health Care Center
Indianapolis
,
IN
United States
Our primary nurse was like a lighthouse helping guide us through the tumultuous waters.
In August, I was flown from my hometown to St. Vincent Women’s Hospital. This was a very scary time for my family and me, considering I was 28 weeks pregnant. I ended up having an emergency C-section due to preeclampsia complications. Our son was put into the NICU, and we had no idea what was in store for us. In the beginning, we had a very typical NICU stay; however, after about three weeks, our little one got Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) several times. We were very scared and didn’t really understand what the doctors were telling us or what was going on. Our primary nurse was like a lighthouse helping guide us through the tumultuous waters. Sara explained everything in a way that we were able to understand and gave clarity to the situation. However, that is what all nurses in the NICU are expected to do. Sara went above and beyond what is expected of her to make sure that not only were we okay, but our son was. She was our biggest advocate for him and treated him like he was her own. Once he started growing big enough to need his own space for play and development, she talked to the doctors to get him in his own room. She was able to learn all the little things about him and helped us understand what his baseline is; with this, it was easier to understand what & how much of the medications he needed to be on to help ease the lasting issues that developed due to the NEC. Our son was in the NICU for 272 long days, and on several occasions, Sara reached out to us personally to let us know how he was doing and give more of a personal update, especially through the hard times. She gave our son love when we couldn’t be there to do it ourselves. I will never be able to express how grateful I am that we were blessed to meet such an extraordinary woman.