NICU Reunion

Dr. Lane

Today was special.  I got to introduce Stephen to some of the doctors and nurses that took care of him during his 26 night NICU stay.  These are the men and women who truly saw us through a medical crisis.  They were the ones with us in that small hospital room day in and day out.  They took care of Stephen in ways Joe and I were incapable of and for their expertise I will always be grateful!

Stephen had 4 Neonatologists care for him during his stay and today he got to meet 3 of them!  I can not speak highly enough of this team...they still mean the world to me!  To get to see them again and thank them once more was special.  I know they can't possibly remember every patient...but we will never forget them =)

Dr.Suttner

Dr. Speziale

RN Julie

And seeing nurse Julie was a real treat.  She remembered Stephen...even his room number =)  And this picture just says it all!  The NICU nurses were a huge blessing to me.  We were not allowed to spend the night in the NICU at Rady's so each night I had to leave my baby...it was awful.  But I am so grateful for the amazing nurses who cared for Stephen when I wasn't able to.  The night shift nurses came on at 7pm and left at 7am.  We would usually stay in the room until about 11pm and be back in there before shift change (around 6:30am) to be able to ask how he did before they left.

This team truly meant the world to me.  I wrote a handwritten thank you note to every single nurse and doctor who cared for Stephen during our stay (and even one for the cleaning lady)!  She always made my day.  She would come in the same time each day and ask how he was doing and I would always look forward to her little visits.  Joe and I had very little contact with the outside world during this time and these people became like a family to me.  They were the only other adults we talked with most days and they were the only people in our life who truly knew what we were going through.

So a HUGE thank you to Rady Children's Hospital and the incredible NICU team.  They are all heroes in my book!  I am grateful that they chose these professions and continue to daily bless the lives of so many!