My mom has been a nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for over twenty-five years. As a specialized nurse, her story is quite unique. The NICU is the unit in a hospital people often know the least about. It is where newborns and premature babies with serious medical conditions go to receive intensive care. Though this describes it in a general sense, many people do not realize the type of person it takes to work in the NICU.
My mom is a decision maker. She doesn’t have the time to hesitate on a course of action, especially since the life of the baby is in her hands. Whether the baby is extremely premature, seriously ill from an infection, withdrawing from drugs that its mother used or requires surgery; my mom’s expertise is key in keeping the baby’s progress on the right track. On occasion, my mom takes care of multiple babies. There are instances when the babies in her room are crashing at the same time, and her opinions are vital in dictating how to cater to each baby’s needs. Nevertheless, this fast-paced, chaotic environment always keeps her on her toes.
My mom is a night owl. Most of the time, she works the 12-hour night shift—7 AM to 7 PM. At times, she is assigned the most critically ill baby in the unit. She tirelessly sits with her little patient for the entire 12-hour period doing her best to make the baby the most comfortable it can be. When I see her come home in the morning in her formula stained scrubs, I see how emotionally and physically exhausting it is to save a baby’s life.
Though the gleaming medical expertise and ability to pull all-nighters are requirements of the job, the calm and loving demeanor my mom exudes is what molds her to be a great NICU nurse. Through and through, my mom fights for her babies. She loves every one she takes care of and treats it as one of her own. She understands the anxieties and fears of parents while they ask her thousands of questions. She has a special way of rocking her baby and holding it tight when she knows its mom can’t be there to do so. She is the one who cries with a grieving family when their beautiful baby passes away, long after the baby’s spirit has left this world. She is the one who will never be forgotten by the family whose baby is grown up, successful, and made its place in life. Most importantly, she is the angel who advocates for the little patients that can’t yet represent themselves and for the families that need emotional support through the toughest time in their lives.
Thank you to all of the NICU nurses like my mom. We need people like you to remind us that miracles are truly performed by angels.
