The day doctors informed me of my daughter’s diagnosis will always be a memory that stays frozen in time. I truly felt like God left me that day, but Emily stayed by my side. She listened to me when I had little to say, but so many tears to spare. She was with me through some of the darkest and most emotional moments of my family’s NICU journey. She is one of the many nurses who will forever be in my heart.

Emily’s vibrant personality always shone whenever she walked into our daughter’s room, but even more so in our darkest hours. The day my baby was scheduled for surgery, I was doing my best to hold myself together, but inside, I was breaking. I was screaming. I was drowning. Frustration and sadness filled me up, and once again, Emily saw me. In that moment, I was not just a patient’s mom, but a human being who was hurting. She held me and reminded me it was okay to feel everything I was feeling. Her reassurance let me know that our daughter would be okay.

When the day of our daughter’s actual surgery came, Emily wasn’t assigned to us, but when she showed up to check on our daughter, I knew I would never be able to thank her enough for being so involved in my baby’s care. I saved the craft she made in honor of our daughter’s surgery right alongside her birth certificate, so that one day our daughter can see that her nurse believed in her and celebrated her bravery.

After surgery, Emily was again assigned to us, and every time she was, the way she cared for our daughter made me feel at peace during a time when peace felt impossible. When she was assigned to my daughter, it felt like a breath of fresh air because I trusted her completely. She loved our daughter as if she were her own, and the kindness she had for my baby is something I will eternally be thankful for.

As I sit and write this, it has been exactly 306 days since our daughter was born. She just turned 10 months this past weekend. It has taken me a long time to begin to remember, because reliving those moments is truly so hard. My world isn’t as dark anymore. Our daughter is now thriving at home. She’s sprinting off the vent during all of her waking hours, she’s eating fully by mouth, she just started crawling, and she is meeting all her milestones. She still loves her unicorn mobile and pulling her older sister’s hair. At 10 months old, she’s defying all odds.

Emily didn’t just care for my baby; she cared for me. And that is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Thank you so much, Emily, for being such a great nurse to my baby, but overall, for being such a great person.