Anna Frangia
June 2022
Anna
Frangia
,
BSN, RN
NICU
ChristianaCare Newark Campus
Newark
,
DE
United States
We had Anna 4 of the nights we were there and those were some of the only nights I felt comfortable going home.
Let me start by simply saying, Anna might actually be an angel. Grant it, I truly believe all of the NICU nurses are angels, but Anna, she’s exceptional. Our son, M, had a rough start to his entrance earth-side, warranting a 10-day NICU stay. As I’m sure every parent to a baby in the NICU would agree, they were the most terrifying, unexpected, and heart-breaking moments of my husband and I’s lives thus far, but Anna made it better. She made it bearable and in the few nights we had her as M’s nurse, she gave us peace.
I myself am a nurse at Christiana in CVICU, and I have worked with some amazing nurses, but Anna surpasses being amazing; she is the type of nurse everyone should strive to be, including myself. Being a nurse in the adult world, I had so many questions and concerns about the NICU world. I felt clueless and helpless in an area I’m so used to helping. Anna made sure I stayed informed, was patient with her explanations, and gave high-level clinical answers to questions (answers I would expect from a veteran nurse, not from someone as novice as I learned Anna to be in NICU).
Her attention to detail and thorough assessments were unlike any other nurse that stepped into his room in those 10 days. In addition to all of that, she took time to do things that are absolutely not required of her. When M made small progress overnight, she called me, regardless of the time of night because she knew I needed/wanted that information. I know the golden rule “no news is good news”, and nurses are not required to call for updates like that, but she did. We had Anna 4 of the nights we were there and those were some of the only nights I felt comfortable going home. I knew M was safe and that she would give him the attention and care that I would give if I had stayed with him.
On the mornings I would return, she always left a sweet message on the table that started with “Hi mom and dad, last night I….” And it would have an update “from M”. On his 1 week “birthday” she made the most thoughtful footprint art laminated that I will literally keep forever. I had extreme mom guilt leaving him at night, so coming into things like that made me smile, helped me relax, and made me so much more confident in my decision to go home that night. Even my husband, who is a man of very few words, would tell me how relieved he was when we had Anna.
When we were laying in bed, he said “I just feel more relaxed knowing he has her tonight.” I could go on and on about the impact Anna made on M, my husband, and me during our stay but I’ve probably already written too much. So, I will say this, she made one of the most unbearable times in our life, bearable. She makes me want to be a more compassionate nurse. I hope her coworkers and the organization know how lucky they are to have a nurse like her because she could go anywhere she wanted and excel. We feel so honored to have had her care for our son and as a nurse and a previous CCHS DAISY Award Honoree myself, I know what the DAISY represents to its fullest. Thank you, Anna, for giving us a glimmer of light on some of our darkest days.
I myself am a nurse at Christiana in CVICU, and I have worked with some amazing nurses, but Anna surpasses being amazing; she is the type of nurse everyone should strive to be, including myself. Being a nurse in the adult world, I had so many questions and concerns about the NICU world. I felt clueless and helpless in an area I’m so used to helping. Anna made sure I stayed informed, was patient with her explanations, and gave high-level clinical answers to questions (answers I would expect from a veteran nurse, not from someone as novice as I learned Anna to be in NICU).
Her attention to detail and thorough assessments were unlike any other nurse that stepped into his room in those 10 days. In addition to all of that, she took time to do things that are absolutely not required of her. When M made small progress overnight, she called me, regardless of the time of night because she knew I needed/wanted that information. I know the golden rule “no news is good news”, and nurses are not required to call for updates like that, but she did. We had Anna 4 of the nights we were there and those were some of the only nights I felt comfortable going home. I knew M was safe and that she would give him the attention and care that I would give if I had stayed with him.
On the mornings I would return, she always left a sweet message on the table that started with “Hi mom and dad, last night I….” And it would have an update “from M”. On his 1 week “birthday” she made the most thoughtful footprint art laminated that I will literally keep forever. I had extreme mom guilt leaving him at night, so coming into things like that made me smile, helped me relax, and made me so much more confident in my decision to go home that night. Even my husband, who is a man of very few words, would tell me how relieved he was when we had Anna.
When we were laying in bed, he said “I just feel more relaxed knowing he has her tonight.” I could go on and on about the impact Anna made on M, my husband, and me during our stay but I’ve probably already written too much. So, I will say this, she made one of the most unbearable times in our life, bearable. She makes me want to be a more compassionate nurse. I hope her coworkers and the organization know how lucky they are to have a nurse like her because she could go anywhere she wanted and excel. We feel so honored to have had her care for our son and as a nurse and a previous CCHS DAISY Award Honoree myself, I know what the DAISY represents to its fullest. Thank you, Anna, for giving us a glimmer of light on some of our darkest days.