There is no other way to describe a deserving nurse practitioner, Christy Paschal, except to tell you a story. I was threatened to have my baby at 23 weeks. Our angel was born at 25 weeks and she spent exactly 87 days in the NICU. The Bible says to be careful how you treat people because oftentimes you entertain angels unaware. I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to interact with, talk to, pray with, cry with discuss personal life issues with and sometimes debate the issues of my daughter‘s health and future with NP Christy Paschal.

Although I vaguely remember the conversation I totally remember the feeling when I first met Christy. I was laying in the hospital waiting for my daughter to decide when she was going to make her arrival. I was terrified! I felt alone and I was scared of everything! It was at that time, that Christy showed up and she did not have to say it but I felt it, it was her spirit that superseded anything that she said. I asked her, at that time not even knowing her, to pray for me. She promised to do so and I believed that she did.

After I had our baby, I saw this woman again. I had forgotten about our previous conversation but she had not. During the morning rounds in NICU, this ANGEL watched me as I a broken, scared, terrified, slightly defeated mom watch my daughter through an incubator. Christy stopped what she was doing and held my hand and promised that she would be with me every step of the way. She did not lie. Christy made it very apparent that there was a common bond between her and me. It did not take long for us to connect and I depended on her and her positivity. It is because of Christy that my heart was opened to the idea to share our prayers, our concerns, and our child’s achievements with other families. Christy is actually the driving inspiration for me to even feel that this could have been a derivative of Christy’s praying family mentality. Because of my adapted actions, I affectionately gained the name of the NICU welcoming committee.

On many occasions, Christy explained the pros and cons of every situation, and when it was time to make the tough decisions she would always know exactly how to bring it back to a spiritual and comforting conversation. Although I would like to think that it is just my family, I have seen Christy comfort other families and pray over babies prior to performing their procedures. This, in my opinion, makes her worth her weight in gold! I believe that God is well pleased with his Daughter, Christy. As it relates to the core values, I would like for it to be known that she is a remarkable person not only in service but also in heart! She hits the core values of an exemplary exhibition of compassion, and having a heart that knows no other way but to be diverse finally Christy made our NICU experience one that will never be forgotten because of the love that we received! Thank you for this opportunity to identify Greatness!