Brittany Kelly
May 2024
Brittany
Kelly
,
RN
NICU
Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital
Saint Petersburg
,
FL
United States

 

 

 

When Brittany enters the room on her nights, my son’s eyes light up when he hears her greet him.
Having your premature baby at one-month-old transferred an hour and a half away is a terrifying experience. Brittany Kelly stepped in our first night and made us feel as though our baby had a fair chance to be okay. Sharing that she and her twin sister were premature babies themselves made us feel being a micropremie didn’t have to be as scary as everyone made it out to be. We had Brittany over the first few days of our Johns Hopkins NICU journey, and she was the most kind-hearted person I have ever come in contact with. Sadly, we lost touch as she had to experience many different levels of care throughout the NICU. Still, one morning, while we were checking in at the desk, she noticed us on her way to clock out. She remembered not only us but also our son from that first week and asked if she could please come check on him. By this point, he was no longer an overly fragile 2-3 lb baby; he was much bigger and had just gotten off the ventilator and to CPAP. Remembering how caring she was over his first week and the impression she had left on us, we asked her on the spot if she could primary. She agreed, but management wouldn’t allow it for various reasons. However, my husband and I felt that Brittany was the best person to help us advocate for our baby while unable to be present as often as we would like due to work schedules. We went to bat more than once with management, and after many conversations, Brittany was finally named the primary nurse on my son’s case. She had made such a difference in my son's care by being proactive with any changes in him clinically, advocating for things as simple as having other staff only remove the tape from his skin with baby oil, and advocating to providers that he needs imaging we had requested and been denied, and beyond that. When Brittany enters the room on her nights, my son’s eyes light up when he hears her greet him. She treats my son as if he were hers and goes far beyond “it’s my job.” Many of her coworkers have said, “Brittany Lee is a primary? She’s the sweetest person I’ve ever met. He’s lucky to have her.” Several other parents have talked about her while she’s on shift and how they wish she could primary for them. Johns Hopkins doesn’t know how lucky they are to have Brittany on staff. I know we are beyond blessed to have had this angel walk into our lives when she did at such a low point, not knowing if my son was going to survive.