Our son joined us 2 weeks early after an uncomplicated pregnancy. We expected that this would be a perfectly healthy baby boy. Unfortunately, he failed his 24-hour CCHD screen, earning himself a trip to the NICU. As first-time parents, we were devastated and scared. This is when our wonderful nurse, Anna came into the picture and completely dragged us through the next few days on her back. We are so thankful that we would end up spending the next 3 days with her watching over our son.

Anna is a role model of compassionate care. Anna guided us through our baby’s first bath and showed us how to care for his circumcision. She made an extra effort to track down some “cute” bed sheets for him and found a teddy bear onesie that would end up being our son’s first outfit. It was some of these small gestures that showed us how much Anna really cared. Anna demonstrated empathy every time she stepped foot in our room. I was an emotional train wreck for most of the week. Anna didn’t make me feel like I was crazy. Anna helped me remain positive during such an emotional time. Anna was a true advocate for our son throughout our stay.

My son’s dad asked Anna very detailed questions related to the physiology of pulmonary hypertension and hyperbilirubinemia. Anna spent hours in our room helping us understand and process what was going on with our son. Anna went to her charge nurse for help and took the time out of her busy day to read research articles and come back to us to answer our specific questions. Anna was able to communicate in a therapeutic way with us. She happily answered all our questions and kept us informed of treatment plans, so we knew what to expect.

Anna established a heartfelt connection with our son and with us. We truly felt she was invested in our son’s outcome, and she went above and beyond to get us through the hardest week of our lives. Anna is an Extraordinary Nurse, and she deserves to be recognized and celebrated for the quality of care she delivered.