Imagine the emotions someone might feel when they are told their baby may need surgery shortly after birth. Now imagine those fears doubled, when the baby is born nine weeks early and needs surgery. It is not the way my husband and I envisioned the birth of our child; but from the moment we stepped into the Neonatal ICU, everyone was kind, supportive and encouraging. We had many nurses and doctors throughout our daughter's NICU stay, but one stands out above all the others, Maggie Holmes.

Maggie was our daughter's primary day nurse. Every shift she worked was with our daughter, whether bedside or through monitoring her progress on a nearby computer. In the beginning, she was sensitive to our emotions and provided encouragement when we seemed discouraged. As weeks went by, we developed a closer relationship. Every question or concern we had, Maggie did her best to give us further information or provide us with the right words to keep us going.

Despite all the medical jargon and conversations, we began to know Maggie, the person, as well as the nurse. Even after we were discharged from the hospital, Maggie continued to check on us and our daughter by making herself available if we had more questions or concerns. Maggie was more than our daughter's nurse, she became a new friend. Our NICU experience would not have been the same without her.