It takes a special person to care for newborn babies and their parents – and Nicole Saia already excels at this daily, serving as a nurse in Labor and Delivery. Being in this role means that she and her colleagues welcome new life into the world daily, and yet there are days that they are asked to be present during deeply difficult times as well. Moments of deep grief when patients experience the loss of a pregnancy or the death of their baby.

Nicole recently allowed her compassion to shine through her artistic talent. When the WakeMed Pregnancy and Perinatal Loss Committee was looking for a new design for the memory boxes given to parents experiencing this deep reservoir of grief, Nicole offered her gifts. Through the medium of watercolor, she designed multiple bouquets to cover the boxes and month after month she would seek out feedback to ensure that the image was what the committee wanted. Every time she took feedback from the committee she would embark upon a blank canvas to produce a brand new design. The final result? A beautiful painted bouquet filled with flowers with deep, comforting colors. This image now is on each member box that is given to parents experiencing the immeasurable grief that comes with losing a child. Parents are invited to keep small mementos of their child – blankets, wristbands, hats – within these boxes.

Nicole’s empathy and compassion shine through this commissioned art piece, and she wrote a letter to convey her hopes to each family:

"This memory box was made in honor of you and your family, to recognize both the life and loss of your baby. Our hope is that these mementos would bring comfort in grief and peace in remembrance. Designed with love, Nicole Saia"

With immense gratitude for Nicole’s gifts of art, thoughtfulness, and time, I wholeheartedly nominate her for the DAISY Award. Thank you, Nicole, for all that you do.