Our daughter was in the NICU for 72 days after being born at 31 weeks and 3 days gestation. Lauren was her nurse on her first day of life, when she had to be intubated and again for many of the next 71 days. Lauren went above and beyond to love on our daughter from her very first day and showed incredible compassion and professionalism educating my wife and I about her care. We learned SO MUCH about neonates and our baby from Lauren, who seemed to know everything the doctors knew and sometimes more. Our daughter's oxygen monitor was constantly alarming for the first several weeks of her life, as her O2 would oscillate between too low and too high depending on how much oxygen she was given. Lauren was incredibly patient and responsive with our daughter and was always determined to find the positioning and routines that minimized our daughter's need for supplemental oxygen, reducing her risk of complications like ROP. While having a NICU baby is stressful, Lauren made us feel so confident and calm that we truly did not fear most of the things I think most NICU parents do. We knew our daughter was getting the right care, we knew she was being held and loved on, and we knew that anything we expressed as parents would be communicated and advocated for. On our daughter's last day in the NICU, Lauren came in (on her day off) to celebrate her NICU graduation with photos and streamers. Lauren went above and beyond for our daughter’s entire stay so we found it so fitting and unsurprising that she drove in just for us on that final day.