One would believe that after conceiving, worrying, indulging future dreams, reading every ingredient to ensure you’re being the best parent before ever hearing a heartbeat and all the other manic, terrifying, and unexpected feelings of bringing your first child into the world, that a small and unassuming box asking why Jill should receive LRH’s DAISY Award would be sophomoric. To our unknown audience, we are here to say it is not.

Labor is the final battle before the real war begins and all of the unknowns make it terrifying. Sit with anyone, at any social event, and tell them you’re expecting your first child. You will, without a doubt, be given every horror story you had never considered possible by well-meaning friends, family, and strangers. It is a condition of society that more people will take to public forums to express a bad experience than will ever take the time to express a good one. We had been prepared for our own fox-hole tales to scare the uninitiated. The intake staff, women's health department, emergency room, L&D staff, security, cafeteria personnel, custodial staff, and maintenance crew failed to meet that expectation. And yes, we met them all in the past 9 months.

It would be impossible to write this nomination without spending nearly half of your time rambling about how kind, patient, disarming, normal, and amazing your organization's people are. We are humbled by how simply good these people are to their core, it's the only way we can describe it, there is no bad in their beings, just good.

The universe has forever been altered. Scientists all over the world agree that the big bang occurred on November 16th at 4:40 pm, presenting at 8 pounds, 8 ounces, and 21 inches tall. All gravity, all energy, everything now owes its existence to a being who sneezes 3 times, then lets free the cutest little sigh of relief. If you’ve ever been to a place where the night sky is unaffected by humanity’s light pollution and looked up to the Milky Way, well, you’ve seen the past 9 months of our lives. We are tiny, we don’t matter, and the human brain is incapable of processing true beauty. In the myths and legends of our human experience, we will, as those did before us, never forget the north star. Everyone knows it's there in their times of need, and Jill Rooney is our birthing north star. When all else fails, go to the nursing station and ask the north star if this sleep sack is too tight, for the third time, because you're only a dad.

Oh Jill, Jill Jill-Jill-Jill-Jill. Funny, honest, mostly professional, experienced, patient and always willing to walk away from a meal to humor a new dad in way over his head. A classic general, leading laboring women into battle atop a white horse with her sword in the air: “Fight, fight through that burn, FIGHT.” Effortlessly, calmly reassuring a soon-to-be new mom who thinks this is labor, what a fool. In a crew of extraordinary people, Jill Rooney stands a head above the rest.

Patrick was 33, one year younger than ourselves, when he lost his life. To think our lives have really just gotten on track, that at 33 we would have never met our daughter. I was genuinely relieved when, at the bottom of paragraph 3, I saw the photo of Patrick, Tena, and baby Riley. In the photo, Patrick, Tena, and Riley are us, nearly to the day. Go to the website, you’ll see the picture, you’ll understand.

In honor of Patrick, the team in all of LRH’s various departments, and our little girl, we humbly nominate Jill for LRH’s DAISY Award.