We learned on our last admission day that her favorite color was yellow. How fitting it was—because she was literally our sunshine during some of the rainiest and most challenging days of our lives.

My daughter was born with the largest congenital epulis (a tumor in the mouth) that her surgeon and the NICU doctors had ever seen. She beat all odds and was born breathing on her own, not needing a trach or intubation as anticipated.

I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday, only getting to see her for a few seconds after our planned C-section before she was whisked away to the NICU with my husband. I remember FaceTiming with my husband all day, and he kept saying there was a team (literally six NICU nurses in her room at all times) of nurses working on her, but immediately one stood out. He said, "Everyone's great, but there's one nurse here who you can tell really, really, really cares about our baby".

Over the next two weeks, our daughter had big days ahead of her that included surgery on day five of life and learning to eat after two weeks with an NGT. At every milestone day, her primary care nurse, Caitlin, was there with her—advocating, cheering her on, and loving her (and us) like we were family.

On the morning of our daughter's surgery, my husband and I had worship music playing as we were waiting for transport. Caitlin was tending to her, getting her ready as well, when we heard her start softly singing along with us. She knew Jesus, she loved like Jesus, she cared like Jesus, and all of a sudden, we were reminded that the spirit of Jesus had been with us all along—through her.

As a nurse and a first-time mom, Caitlin touched my heart and my family more than she'll ever know. Yes, she had all the skills of a great NICU nurse, but it was her heart for our daughter and her love for Jesus that made all the difference.

How fitting it is that her favorite color is yellow—like a DAISY.