I gave birth to my firstborn baby boy. Though my days in the hospital seem like a blur in hindsight, I have always remembered our nurse, Darlene. Coming off of almost 24 hours of labor, which ended in an emergency C-Section, I was in the most vulnerable state I have ever been in. Darlene met me as a person, not just a patient or “new mom”. She was so kind, she was funny, and she made me feel comfortable. I remember expressing my anxieties to her about new parenthood, to which she eased in a way that made me feel seen and heard. I remember being so glad that we had a nurse with such a good personality and sense of humor, as it made our sterile hospital room feel a little less scary.

Our son was admitted to the NICU for the first 24 hours of life, and those were hard emotions, hard for us to deal with. Those worries, Darlene eased too. This DAISY nomination is late, a year and a half too late, and for that I apologize. When I stumbled across the nomination page just now (17 months postpartum), I immediately thought of Darlene. I have sung praises about her to my friends and family since my son was born, but I want Darlene to know that I will always remember how she treated us during my postpartum stay, and that I am forever grateful for the impact she had at the single most memorable time of my life to date.