Dear OPRMC NICU family,

Let me start this by saying that everyone in the NICU needs to have their salary tripled. They are not just nurses & doctors. They were my therapists, my teachers & my friends. They were my "constant." I got to a point where I realized that my child was okay at the hospital without me because she was loved by her nurses. I knew that they took care of Briella like their own.
My day would start out by getting off the elevator & seeing Dana or Kim. Dana offered hope with her story of a micropreemie daughter who had graduated college & was a beautiful young lady. She knew exactly what every parent there was going through. What a perfect job for her I thought many of times!!!
I would fill out the daily checklist of the many symptoms & illnesses that I was free of. I would then "scrub in" which consisted of putting my bag of milk down, taking off all jewelry, taking my coat off & pulling up my sleeves, doing my ritual of 3 pumps of avaguard spread all over my arms and hands, picking up everything with wet hands & hustling over to Briella's room. I would walk over to her crib & tell her "Mommy's here baby girl. "
In the early days following Briella's birth, she started having repeat nurses who we quickly started referring to as her "A team." Belinda, a night nurse who was just so kind and made everything less scary just by her calming voice & manner. Audrey, Charlotte & Diane who seem to be every Nicu graduates favorites, as I've gathered from facebook & Nicu reunion photos. Lori who also had micropreemies always was there to check on Briella & explain things in a way that I quit worrying. Melissa, a Respiratory Therapist who even long after she no longer saw Brie would still chat with me in passing. Jay, a tech who (has GREAT hair, lol) would always greet us with a smile & ask how we were doing. Larry, he always made me chuckle. Hearing his voice, even if he was just talking to other nurses on our row, was a constant, something that was comforting. I would often chuckle just listening to his conversations. He was like the great Oz. The dish soap we used to clean our pump parts never went down & was always full! Kelly, I swear they hired her to pretend to work the front desk but to actually befriend the parents to make them feel at home. It was so nice to have someone daily say "Hi Stacy! How's it going?" Funny story. Kelly was working the antepardum desk the day i arrived by ambulance. For those that have been reading along for that long, that was my post about the magnesium & how agitated I was at everything. Well she remembered me coming in & being awful lol. I was embarrassed to learn she was around then & I tried to convince her that I really am not mean & that it was the drugs. :)
The group of doctors were so amazing. I felt like we honestly had a personal connection to each one. Dr Schooly who was the Dr who came in to the room right after Briella was born & was able to save her, was also her discharging Dr 19 weeks later. It felt so appropriate to have her be the 1st & last Doc. Dr Simpson who was the dr that came to talk to me while I was still pregnant. She was there when I was on the magnesium & feeling like death, to explain our odds & what would happen. And even came back down the next day when I was off the magnesium to explain everything to me again when I could concentrate better. Dr Lancaster, Dr Hubbard, Dr Castro & Dr Stapley were all favorites. I even enjoyed the ultrasound tech, Innocence!
And then there was Sara. She was a nurse who stole our hearts. I think in a past life we were bffs. She was just so easy to talk to. It wasn't like having a nurse, it was like your sister being with your child when you couldn't. You just had zero hesitations & could talk to her about anything. I've read at other NICU's across the US that they allow the parents to decide if they want their child to have a primary nurse. If we had that opportunity we would have asked Sara. I felt she loved Briella & Knox like her own!
Jesse, Beth, Tabitha, Monica (also has amazing hair!), Alex, Colleen, Betsy, Larissa, Alyssa, Jenn, Beverly, Megan (I think it has a different spelling) & Tiffany also faves! Melissa & her massages will be missed (Briella's massages).
When it was finally time to go home in the evening, Nikki would be there to sign me out & ask how everything was. When we were discharged, I joked to Brian that I was still going to call Nikki every night just to talk instead of calling to check on Briella.
Briella got to spend time with a great lady, Karen, during her N Trainer therapy sessions.
I miss my Wednesdays scrapbooking with a lovely volunteer who's daughter in law was due right around the same time I should have been due. It was so easy to sit down & just talk to her. It was like my therapy session. (I hope you enjoy spoiling Eloise!) She actually spoiled me & on several occasions and got me scrapbooking bundles to do at home on my own!!! She made me cry!
The lady in the gift shop also made me cry. Her daughter had made these adorable cake pops for Briella's baby shower. When I went to pick them up, she gave me a blanket for Briella. I am just overwhelmed at the kindness of strangers!!!!

I can't imagine being at any other place during Briella's journey. All of these people have become our family. We cannot wait til RSV/flu season is over to come visit!!

*I am sure I am leaving a bunch of people out, I am sorry!! We love you too. Forgive me in advance but its 5:01 am :)
Also, we LOVE all of you night nurses that I never met but took care of my baby, thank you!!!!