We would like to bring attention to the amazing care that Carlee provided to us during our stay on 7-Center. My wife began having more frequent contractions Tuesday morning at 3:00 am and we went to the hospital that day at noon. She gave birth to our beautiful son on Wednesday just after 4:00 am. I work nights in the ICU and had worked Monday night, came home and got two hours of sleep before coming in. The reason I tell you this is because neither of us had slept. We were excited about our son but already exhausted by the time he entered the world and we knew sleep would be even harder to come by. Between the doctors and nurses coming throughout the day and night, our sleep deprivation continued to worsen.
One of the many things my wife was stressed about going into having our first child was breastfeeding. All she wanted to do was provide this new bundle of joy with a supply to nourish him and allow him to grow. However, the first days went poorly and frustration was high. The lactation consultant gave pointers and education, but it did not get better. We were frustrated and exhausted. I had 5 hours of sleep in 72 hours and had fallen asleep. My wife had little more sleep and when the baby fussed and breastfeeding went poorly, my wife broke into tears. She felt she couldn't do anything right and the joy of having a newborn had been taken away by exhaustion and failure.
However, Carlee was there. She sat with my wife and compassionately listened. She held her hand and gave her the exact encouragement she needed during that moment. She took time out of her busy morning schedule to be the person she needed through empathy and support. That amazing care continued throughout the duration of her shift. Every time she saw us she gave words of encouragement and even skipped her lunch to give extra education and support. Even at the end of her shift after report was done and she dealt with a different patient's situation that kept her at the hospital until 9:00 pm, she rounded back on us. She came one more time to make sure my wife was okay and if there was anything she could do for us.
Carlee did an amazing job and we are very grateful for her care. She exemplifies going above and beyond and is a true DAISY Nurse.