Laura Herring was my son's nurse the day of his Norwood surgery. Little did we know how much we needed her. We had just had a baby in the Day Surgery Unit, and now sending him for his first Open Heart Surgery. She talked us through the process, calmed our fears, and gave us hugs when we needed them. Laura has 28+ years' experience which really showed as she tenderly cared for our critically ill 7-day-old with HLHS & restricted ASD & lung issues.
Laura walked us through each medicine, it's purpose, function, and dosage. She taught us about each machine and how to understand the stats on the monitors. We were so scared, and she helped us believe that baby J would make it through these tough times. Laura clearly shines. When we stepped down to CCU she visited us to make sure everything was okay. I even took her photo with J for his baby book because she helped him and us survive stage 1.
When we checked in this time for his semi-Fontan, she made sure to see him and check which nurse we had for Op day. Always a friendly face in the hallways, Laura trains the rising nursing staff and challenges them to be better every day. Thank you, Laura, for the hope and giving parents the knowledge to advocate for our babes.