Celebrating Nurses for National Nurses Week

May 8, 2017

We come across them in almost every single medical office we encounter: our general practitioner, our OBGYN, our kids’ pediatrician, a specialist, and more. Nurses often serve as the first point of contact between patients and doctors, advocating for patients and providing exceptional patient care.

May 6 – 12 is National Nurses Week, and to celebrate, we’re doing a roundup of our most heartfelt posts about some of our favorite members of our medical teams.

nurse, nurse appreciation, NICU nurse, preemie, NICU, Hand to Hold

Courtesy Hayhurst family

Dear NICU Nurse – Did you know anything about the special role NICU nurses play in the lives of babies and parents before you yourself had a NICU baby? Heather Hucks shares a touching letter to NICU nurses, acknowledging all they do for families, physically and emotionally.

Most of the world still doesn’t know what you do. They can’t understand how integral you are to the positive outcomes of these babies who started life so critically ill. But I do. I know you now. I will never forget you.

Bob the Nurse & Learning to be a Useful Dad – Eric Ruthford describes how watching a male nurse care for the babies in the NICU inspired him to take steps in caring for his own micro preemie son.

I looked at Bob as he efficiently moved from one isolette to the other when someone’s desaturation alarm went off and thought, “Wow, there’s a man in here, and he’s useful.” There were plenty of male neonatologists in the NICU, but they usually came through for a five-minute consultation and then were gone. This guy was actually caring for the babies.

NICU Nurse Becomes NICU Mom – NICU nurse Linda Merritt tells her story of becoming a NICU mom and the experience of being on the other side of the bed.

It felt like Acton was just my favorite baby in the NICU. After about two weeks, I started saying I could just take him home, because I could handle all the equipment and knew how to take care of him. After all, as a NICU nurse, this is who I am and what I do.

Other Mothers (Dedicated to the NICU Nurses Who Helped Save Our Children’s Lives) – Kaleena Berryman’s touching poem dedicated to NICU nurses is from her book, Stronger than We Thought: Poetry for the Preemie Mom’s Journey

On the day my child was born too little, too soon
I was not the only mother present in the room
Somewhere in the background, I did not realize
There stood a group of women, assigned to both our lives

How the Right Primary Nurse Saved My Son – When her son needed an emergency transfer to another hospital, preemie mom Kaleena Berryman met the nurse who would forever change her life, and save her son’s.

I did not choose my son’s primary nurse. His primary nurse chose us.

How NICU Nurses helped me Learn to Parent – Andrea Mullenmeister’s son was born at 23 weeks, 3 days. Throughout their NICU stay, the nurses guided Andrea and her husband through parenting, caring for, and loving their sweet baby.

She looked me in the eye and said, “He knows you’re here. This is how to love your baby right now.” And in the midst of all the alarms, transfusions, medicine, and fear, NICU nurses taught me that my son needed me.

 

Do you have a story about a nurse who had an impact on you? Share it with us!

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