My daughter was born extremely premature at 24 weeks, 6 days. Not only did I not know what to expect as a mother but being thrown into an unfamiliar world of medical terminology, procedures, and statistics, I felt very lost and afraid.

Throughout our daughter's lengthy NICU stay, Mandy helped navigate my husband and me through some of the things we could expect to see and hear, what each beeping meant, what each job of the NICU staff was, and much more. She made us feel as comfortable as possible during a very uneasy time. Her demonstration of compassion while remaining professional by far exceeded my expectations.

She also took exceptional care of our daughter as well. She was gentle and thorough while remaining alert and on top of everything. She was the first nurse to include us in our baby's cares. I still remember the look on my husband's face as Mandy showed him how to touch her then reassuring him that it was, in fact, okay for him to touch her. Mandy believed in us as parents but more importantly believed in my daughter. She encouraged her, talked to her, and let her know she had to be strong for her parents. From her very first diaper changes to the many attempts at trying to get her to drink her whole bottle, Mandy displayed not only dedication to her job but to her patients.