Tara Reeve
November 2016
Tara
Reeve
,
RNC-NIC, ADN
Neonatal ICU
Tucson Medical Center
Tucson
,
AZ
United States

 

 

 

I am the mom of a micro-preemie, born at 23 weeks and 5 days, at 1 pound 6 ounces. As of this moment I have spent every day at my baby's bedside for 91 days and counting. My nomination is for one of our primary nurses, Tara Reeve.
Tara is special in the way that she cares for not just baby, but for my whole family. It's in the comfort that she provides my husband and me when we aren't there, that she will save my babies life. I fully believe that without Tara, our baby wouldn't be the thriving 5 pound, healthy baby that he is today. I also believe that my state of mind would be different, she has truly become a dear friend.
With a micro-preemie, it's hard to imagine a tomorrow. Will he survive the night? Will he ever be off the ventilator? Will we ever walk out of here? I cried, a lot, in the beginning. After 2 days in the NICU I met Tara, that first meeting she told me all about the NICU and what to expect, and while I had heard this several times, my head had just started to clear and I was finally able to listen. Our personalities clicked immediately, it was the first time I felt comfortable since having my baby. She answered all my questions, she never seemed bothered or annoyed.
What stuck out those first days was how big of an advocate she was for Kangaroo care. Tara was the first one who handed me my baby, she wasn't afraid of his size or the fact that he was intubated. He took to Tara immediately, and even though he was too small to understand what was happening to him, he is always more calm when she is around, everyone could see that in his heart rate, respiratory rate and blood oxygen content.
Tara is knowledgeable, understanding, kind, patient, outspoken, funny and she is the perfect person for our baby. I have said many times to anyone who will listen, if there is a such thing as a soulmate nurse, she is his.
Tara is the best, she is an advocate for Henry, his health, and me and has made these past 13 weeks fly by. This has been the most trying time in my life, and I have never been so scared. Tara puts me at ease every day, and I know that my family will continue to thrive because of TMC's support and Tara's undying passion for her life's calling.