There is an award that is given at Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women called the Daisy Award. This award goes to some very amazing nurses that work hard everyday and go above and beyond what is expected. Although it has taken me way to long to write this letter I have done it and I want to share it with everyone because I know social media is wonderful at getting the word out and I want everyone to know! Here goes.... I recently had one of the most overwhelming yet beautiful and unforgettable experiences that could be bestowed on a mother. My son, Harlan James Bowen spent ninety four days in the NICU at Baptist Women’s Hospital. No one can understand the emotional strain that this can put on a mother except someone who has personally experienced it or one of the nurses in the NICU who witnesses it every day they walk through the hospital doors. Two nurses in particular made my experience not only bearable, but enjoyable. They gave me hope that this would end and it would end well. These two women are not just nurses; they are teachers, cheerleaders, and I would even now consider them friends. Lagina Martin Etheridge and Tari Johnson Ellery did not have to speak to me every day I walked through those doors. Between them they may have been assigned to Harlan ten maybe fifteen times, but they never stopped caring. They questioned how I was every time I came in. Checked on Harlan and knew his status, even though they were not his nurse. Both women showed genuine concern for my emotional state and Harlan’s physical state. I went to Lagina on multiple instances for advice on breastfeeding, pumping, and just general support. She never let me down. She even told me of her own personal story and the fight her son went through. She is by far the strongest individual I have ever had the pleasure to meet in my life. Tari, well Tari is a beautiful soul. She encouraged me when all I could do was cry. I will never forget walking in, it had been maybe forty days in and I felt so discouraged. Like he was never going to come home. Tari hugged me and didn’t let go, she reminded me it was just time. Time I would get back. What those two women did for me I can never thank them enough. They gave informative information on what was going on with Harlan and why, they cheered him on with me, and encouraged me to stay strong for my little man. They helped him grow, they nursed him to health, and they made it possible for me to bring my baby home. Had it not been for these two amazing ladies, other nurses, and the doctors of the NICU my son would not be here today. Thank you ladies. You deserve to be recognized for what you do every day. I only wish there was more I could do to thank you, I want the whole world to know what you choose to do every day. You choose to not just nurse these babies to health but to go beyond that and support the mothers who enter the doors of your hospital every day. Mothers like me are forever in your debt.
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 05:08:00 +0000
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