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.