The NICU was Makinley's home for 74 days. This WAS our home away from home. I spent almost every day with Makinley and my social life revolved around those who cared for my daughter. The nurses become your source of sanity, the doctors become your dictionary, and these people become your friends. This post is in honor of all the many hands who helped care for our daughter. She is our special miracle and we know you all had a hand in her success.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for loving our little girl.
Cindy - We had many doctors and nurses in the delivery room when Makinley was born. Cindy was Makinley's first nurse and was in charge of only her for the day. I don't remember much from the first time I saw Makinley in her room but I do remember seeing her name tag on the incubator as MaKinley. I panicked - it had a capital "K" in it. First thing that went through my mind was OH NO - it is all official and it is permanent. I am not a fan of names which have a second capital letter in them. She would forever be saying...no its a capital K when people ask how to spell it. She quickly reassured me that it was not a big deal and she would change all the name tags. As minor as it seemed - you made my day with those simple words. We didn't have Cindy very much for the rest of Makinley's stay but we always enjoyed seeing her sweet demeanor in the halls of the NICU. 
Mindy - I swear you probably thought we were crazy people the day after Makinley was born. We took LOTS and LOTS of pictures of Makinley. We appreciated your quiet character but yet you were very sincere with everything you said. We were happy to have you as a nurse on many different occasions and you always made us feel very comfortable. 
Meghan - You were a part time nurse at the time and we were thankful we got to spend a few shifts with you. Your love for your child was evident and we were thankful we could make your last scheduled shift at Sanford a memorable one with Makinley's Halloween photo shoot. 
Tabitha - We were always excited when we had you sporadically as Makinley's nurse. There is no doubt that you always brought laughter to our room. You would make fun of yourself, tell us a story about your family, or join in on one of our crazy conversations. You were one of few nurses who probably saw us really upset. We knew you loved Makinley and you were willing to stand up for what the parents wanted in any situation. You proved this when we had some issues while Andrew and I were out of town. Thank you - it reassured me knowing that although I was miles away you were being an advocate for us and for our daughter. You were also present for the Halloween photo shoot - thank you for not always following everything by the books :) You will always be a blessing to the families you meet!
Jenn - you will never be forgotten - and always be a part of Makinley's story. You were there from day three and we were always thrilled to have you as our nurse. You saw us at our worst and best. I will never forget going to see Makinley a few days after birth and you were asking us to sign for the PICC line. I was so overwhelmed with trying to check out, trying to make a decision, etc, etc - that I finally broke down crying from everything. You made me feel like I was not an idiot and it was okay to "lose it". You were also our nurse on September 22 - the day we got all of the routine one month scans back. You became a friend - someone I could be honest with, ask questions to, and trust. Not only did we like you but Makinley did too. I don't think it was a coincidence that any blood pressure reading you took was always lower than any other nurse. This is also why we requested you towards the end of our stay because we knew that you would help us get Makinley home :) Thank you Jenn - for getting to know us and allowing us to get to know you.
Jolleen - Our discharge nurse! What a great day it was when you were able to walk us out the door. I enjoyed sharing wedding ideas with you for your child's upcoming wedding and trying to help you iron out the details :) You always enjoyed talking about the lakes and the time you spent with your grandkids.
Elizabeth - We have many words to describe you....knowledgeable, physical therapist, friend, honest, blunt, trustworthy, loving, patient, and the list goes on. You started seeing Makinley less than one week after birth. Your goal was to help stretch Makinleys club feet and gain her more flexibility in her legs. You also helped in many other areas but her feet were our main goal. I appreciated the notes you left me on her progress in the early stages and how you always kept us informed on her status as well as your upcoming goals. As our stay lengthened you became a friend. I would get to the hospital early enough so I could chat with you during Makinley's therapy. You were there for EVERYTHING. You have a gift of explaining. I would always ask you questions about comments the doctors would make and you were always able to put it into terms we would understand or explain the underlining point. Thank you for standing beside us on our NICU journey and for loving Makinley. I hope I have as much patience with my daughter as you have for yours. That patience spills over and shows the true person you are inside. You were a blessing to us and placed in our journey for a reason. You always told us the truth and weren't afraid to include things we may not want to hear. We greatly appreciated that. We knew we could trust you. I hope you can bless many more families just as you did for us.Becky - I think we only had you one or two shifts but you were the nurse who helped me give Makinley her first bath. I had NO idea what I was doing. First, I thought we would actually put her in an infant tub not just wipe her down with wet cloths. Second, I am sorry that it took so long but I thought I had to do a really good job. As time passed - my bath time for Makinley got a lot quicker :)
Diane - You were the first nurse to give Makinley a bottle.
Marsha - I didn't know what to think of you at first - truthfully you kind of scared me. One week after Makinley was born my family was visiting. I was hoping to hold Makinley so they could get a better look at her but our nurse was no where to be found at that moment. So I asked you if I could hold her - you said yes. I waited for you to do as other nurses had and put her in my arms. You looked at me.....paused....and said...you are mom....you can take her out. I was taken back but I appreciated you giving me the confidence to do things on my time and feel like it was okay. From then on I feel like I probably started taking a more active approach with Makinley and worried less if it was "the right thing" or okay with the nurses.
Sheila/Nora/Deidre - Hello night nurses!....or at least it seemed like you were always on nights for us :) I give you ladies a lot of credit for working the opposite schedule as the rest of the world. You made it hard for me to leave some nights. All I wanted to do was sit and hang out with you because you all brought such a fun atmosphere even though it was 9 pm at night. Thank you for watching our little girl while I slept at night. And Nora - I am still sorry that my daughter pooped all over you!
Jill - You always had a spunky personality and you loved pictures as much as I do. You captured the first time Andrew and I held Makinley and I will always treasure those photos.
Gail - Unfortunately for you - I probably used you as one of my venting buddies. I truly appreciated the times you would just walk into our room, get comfy on the couch, and truly listen to the hurdles we were overcoming. You helped me keep my cool when things seemed overwhelming. You helped me understand and complete multiple surveys and required paperwork. You were even willing to help sort through all of our financial paperwork which at the time seemed like a mountain. Thank you - for just being you. You were open about your faith, your family, and you encouraged us to stay on God's path and keep sharing our story with others. God bless you for the work you do!
Cheryl - was Makinley's Speech Therapist. She would come by randomly to watch Makinley work on her bottle. The goal is for every baby to eat through a bottle or nurse on their own. She provided new ideas to help Makinley succeed at bottling.
Our NICU Doctors (Dr. Stevens, Dr. Munson, Dr. Messier, & Dr. Baack) - Thank you for caring for the "little people." We had a few other doctors at times but for the most part these were the four doctors that cared for Makinley. Dr. Stevens followed Makinley's story from the time we started bed rest so he was the NICU doctor in the delivery room that cared for Makinley. Makinley shocked Dr. Stevens with how well she did because he never thought she would survive without lung/breathing issues. Dr. Munson was second doctor we saw the most besides Stevens. He always seemed to have a relaxed attitude about everything. He was our discharge doctor in November. Dr. Messier and Dr. Baack were on Makinley's case more around the one month mark.
It is easy to group all of these people together and say, "they were just doing their job."
And I agree - they were doing their job. But it is so easy to tell who loves what they are doing and who is going through the motions. I hope everyone who has to endure a NICU gets to experience some of the same loving staff that we did on this long, amazing, hard journey.
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