July 2021
Brittany
Bentley
,
BSN, RN
Neonatal ICU
University Medical Center
Lubbock
,
TX
United States
Brittany came in on her day off to take footprints of our son and with her own supplies, she turned them into a painted picture of a flower.
Recently, my wife and I became parents when our son decided to enter the world 2 months before his due date. This was a scary time filled with uncertainties and fears of the unknown, as we were not certain we would be able to take our son home. The team in the NICU was stellar and helped to alleviate those concerns by teaching us what to watch for and how to begin our journey as parents. One of their nurses, who did not even directly care for our son, showed such love and compassion for our little family. Brittney Bentley is one of the NICU nurses that seeks out those opportunities. I had heard stories of her before, for making Halloween costumes for all the NICU infants. Since our son spent his first Easter in the NICU, my wife and I came to find him in an adorable Easter Bunny onesie. This was too perfect because it was also the day that his grandparents got to see him for the first time, and they were thrilled with the extra touch of love he was receiving from his care team. Brittany had another significant impact on our stay in the NICU. My wife had been feeling a bit down because every day, she and I, had to make a conscious decision to leave our newborn child in the hospital. We knew we could not stay around the clock, and we had to continue to take care of ourselves so that the time we spend with our son was purposeful. We also had trust in the NICU team to do what they needed to for our son. My wife’s birthday fell during his time in the hospital, and I mentioned to our nurse if she had any thoughts on something that could be special. She knew just the person to help us out, Brittany, who happened to be in the same pod. This was my first opportunity to meet this angel of a nurse, who exclaimed “I live for this type of stuff!” She came up the idea to have our son give my wife an art gift prepared by him. Brittany came in on her day off to take footprints of our son and with her own supplies, she turned them into a painted picture of a flower. She then had the items waiting for my wife when she came to visit our son on her birthday. My wife and I are truly touched by the amount of love and support from the NICU team, and it was made extra special by the efforts of Brittany. UMC is extremely fortunate to have a nurse like her!