We came to Texas Children's Hospital from New Mexico to give our newborn son the best chance at survival. He was placed in ECMO the same day he was born. We were terrified and the majority of our support system was back in New Mexico.
The morning after our son was born I woke up early and walked myself over to see him. Gloria was the nurse taking care of him. While taking the time to explain to me what was going on, she showed such compassion. Gloria very quickly became a face we were thrilled to see. She displayed confidence, while also allowing us to believe that she truly cared about our little one. We knew when she was around T was in good hands. When he would struggle, she was quick to respond. During daily rounds with physicians, she would make sure to ask about things that we had asked her about and she always made sure after rounds that our questions were answered.
We couldn't help but smile and laugh when we walked up and Gloria was having a full blown conversation with "Sir", as she would call him, in the most adorable little voice. T would stare up at her like he was really listening. She found new ways to incorporate us into our son's care even when he was on ECMO. I don't know how to explain how much we needed this. We were feeling so helpless and every little thing we could do helped relieve that feeling. When we couldn't be at T's bedside, if Gloria was present, we could count on her to keep us updated to how he was doing with phone calls and we knew she was talking to and playing with our boy while taking care of him in our absence.
Leaving our support system to start the most difficult journey of our lives was incredibly stressful and at times very lonely. Gloria's support and exceptional patient care helped us all get through while creating some amazing memories.