Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Best Nurse Ever!

This is Vicky, one of Conner's primary nurses. A primary nurse means that we asked her to be Conner's nurse whenever she is working, and she accepted. We were so happy when she accepted the invitation! From the first day that she took care of Conner, we knew we wanted her to be one of his primary nurses. She raved about how sweet our baby was and there was something so special about her. We feel so confident and so good when we know she is with Conner. She loves Conner, and we know that he can feel her love and that it makes a difference in his care. We are so happy knowing that even when we are not there, that if Vicky is taking care of him, he is being adored and held and loved. Every time we are there with her, she says the kindest, sweetest things about our baby (and what parent doesn't love that?!) and she is such a genuine person!

The other day when I was at the hospital, I went to the parent's lounge for a break, and when I came back to Conner's bedside, Vicky was holding and rocking Conner. (When I had left, he was sleeping in his bed). It was just a simple act, an easy task, but it meant the world to me. It meant that my baby was being taken care of in that special, maternal way that nothing beats. It meant that he didn't just have a nurse that was recording his daily activity, charting medicines and doing her job, but that she truly went the extra mile in providing my sweet little baby with love and affection.

Today Conner had another Swallow Test done. It showed that he has improved in a lot of ways since his last swallow test that was done 10 days ago, but he still didn't 'pass'. The nurse practitioner that came and talked to me today about the swallow test results put a real downer on the situation (didn't focus at all on the positives of him improving) and when she left, I felt sad. I felt like my baby did the best that he could and all she could say was that he 'failed'. My heart felt heavy. I was holding Conner in my arms, and he was sleeping so peacefully. I looked at his little face right next to mine and rubbed my cheek against his soft head. Vicky was standing next to me, at her computer making some notes, and when the nnp left, she turned to me and said how sorry she was, and asked me if I was ok. I couldn't even answer as tears rolled down my face, but I tried to mumble an "I'm o.k." Then I heard her sniffle, and I looked up, and she was crying with me! We have such an amazing nurse! We love Vicky and we are so thankful for her and her remarkable way of being not only the best nurse for our baby, but a wonderful support to myself and Paul.

5 comments:

JoshandMegs said...

I am so happy to hear that you have someone so wonderful to be by yours and Conner's side. I had no idea you could ask for a specific nurse all the time, that is wonderful!
You are right, Conner is doing his best and is a perfect angel. You are being so strong. I hope by the time we move back to SLC he is home, and we should definitely meet up!

Melissa said...

I am so glad to hear that Conner is improving! That is great news.

In regards to the rude doctor, I would call the hospitals complaint department. In a time like this for you, there is NO place for someone acting like that. Its rude and uncalled for.

While you are on the phone with that department, you should leave a compliment for vicky. I am sure this will be forwarded up to her manager and she will be recognized for it. Sounds like she deserves it.

You all are in my thoughts and prayers often.

Heather English said...

What an awesome nurse. Her love for Conner means a lot to me as well. I love him so much too and it comforts me to know he has someone like that taking care of him.

Jeana said...

Oh my, Conner is soooo cute. I love that video of him staring at you. I'm so sorry about the nnp. We had a similar experience. I really hope it wasn't the same one, she was horrible. She told us all these horrible things that could go wrong and that nothing was going to be easy for our daughter. I also witnessed her being really negative with another couple and then talked to the mom after about it. If you want I would talk to the charge nurse and request that you don't have that nnp again. Its hard enough being in the NICU, you don't need negative people making it worse. Like you said Conner is doing his best and and that is awesome! He's getting better and that is so important. I'm so glad you have an awesome nurse. That seriously made all the difference for us, and Kaelyn. She started doing so much better when she had someone consistently caring for her. You guys are awesome and I can't wait till you get Conner home. Walking out of those hospital doors with your baby is such an amazing feeling. Thinking and praying for you guys.

Ashley Poulsen said...

I can only skim your blog, because i just start bawling!!! I hope he gets to come home soon!