The NICU is a special place. It is a place where life begins for a handful of people who need a little extra care and encouragement. My wife and I had the privilege of spending six days in the NICU when our son was born five weeks earlier than anticipated. In this wonderful incubator of life, we met no less than 28 people who cared for these tiny individuals marked by diligence, dedication, and compassion. All were a joy to meet and work with, but Brenda especially stood out.
Over multiple shifts of caring, Brenda set an exceptionally high bar. She was calm, compassionate, articulate, consistent, systematic, thoughtful, and at times, appeared to be superhuman. Her ability to pay attention to multiple things at once was beyond what I have seen anywhere else. At one point she bottle fed twins simultaneously, giving both her full attention. After seeing this, we took to calling her "Superwoman" and "the world's greatest juggler." She really made a very complex job look deceptively easy. When we saw that she and her peers worked seamlessly together, we knew that we were working with someone who was extraordinary.
The first day that we spent in the ward with her and our son, we were new parents, sleep-deprived, and probably a bit frightened. Brenda had this matter-of-fact, compassionate style that put us at ease. Her manner quietly radiated that our son was in good hands. Whether it was changing a diaper, swaddling, or teaching us how to use the bulb syringe, she was impeccably systematized and consistent. She walked us through the logical steps of every aspect of caring for our new son, and repeated steps, as necessary when our sleep-deprived brains didn't follow on the first go. As far as she was concerned, there were no silly questions that we could ask when it came to the care of our son. She even made sure that our son got a hand-crafted name tag, knowing that it would bring a smile to our faces. To this day, we measure the perfection of our swaddles on the Brenda scale.
Our experience in the NICU was wonderful because of Brenda. She epitomizes the compassion and clinical skill that is so valued in any caregiver and left us with many memorable and extraordinary moments from our time at Memorial Hermann.