NICU Nurse Appriciation

Today I want to take a few minutes (or a few lines) to say thank you to the NICU staff at UCSF for caring for my little Liam.

Mostly I want to say thank you to do particular nurses:

Nurse "Dr. Sue" as Lanie calls her:

Sue,

Wonderfully Brass Sue. Your "touch love" got me through so many hard times. You recognized when I couldn't emotionally handle a kind word. You seemed to know just by looking in my eyes whether or not you could be kind or go straight to the facts. You prepped me from the first day. Made sure I would be ready when time came to take Liam home. With your teachings I became confident that when the time came I would be ready. You offered me a tissue and a pat on the back when I needed. You let me cry when I couldn't hold it in any longer. You fought the doctors for Liam when you thought they were wrong. You were strong when I was weak. You were the mother figure I craved for when I was alone and scared. Because of your teachings and the knowledge of what to expect, I was able to stay strong for my son. When Liam was finally able to cry you used to tell him "there's no crying in baseball" and he used to hush for you immediately. We still laugh about it, as well at the times his sedation wore off and he would mess with you by opening his eyes to look around, yet just when you would turn around to see he would close his eyes. He loved you. He bonded with you. You made us both strong. I can never thank you enough for what you did for us. Your care for Liam has forever changed our lives and we are so thankful and feel so blessed to of had you.

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To: Cindy:

Sue,

I don't even know where to begin. You were the emotional one. The one who would hug us when we were down. The one who always knew Liam was upset before his monitors would even show it. You fought for Liam and what was right. You also taught us how to care for Liam once we got him home. You knew this journey would be emotionally hard on us even after NICU and tried to give us the tools to get through it. You recognized the signs of PTSD in us and because of that I went to the doctor when I got home and got meds. If you hadn't of recognized the signs, if you hadn't of said anything I wouldn't of gotten help, and I wouldn't of been able to handle everything I went through at Liams side. For you Liam would always smile. I knew he would throw fits until you would pick him up and love on him if that's what it took. But no, you loved him with all your heart so he only had to look at you with those big brown eyes and you'd cave. He'd win and you'd get to hold him. Many times I remember walking in to see Liam and there you'd be holding him, rocking him or just talking to him. It was a sight that always pulled at my heart strings. I knew when he was with you I had nothing to fear. I will never be able to thank you enough for loving him and fighting for him. Thank you Cindy.

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Thank you the wonderful NICU staff Liam survived what should have killed him.

And now he is a happy, mostly healthy little 3 year old boy.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.