February 2011
Melora
Struntz
,
RN
NICU
Winchester Medical Center
Winchester
,
VA
United States
I am writing this letter to nominate Melora Struntz for The DAISY Award. I wish that I could nominate all the NICU nurses that took care of our daughter, Kerrigan Rose and my family during our NICU stay. Their knowledge, compassion, love, and commitment are priceless to parents in the NICU.
I nominate Melora because of many different reasons. One particular, she was the first to greet me the morning after my daughter was born 13 weeks early. I had delivered close to midnight and the next day, I was anxious to see her and asked a nurse to wheel me to the NICU for the very first time since delivery. As soon as I got there, a nurse turned around and introduced herself to me as Melora. As I sat in my wheelchair, scared to death, she went over everything with me from how my daughter was doing, what the next steps were for her in treatment, what to possibly expect as setbacks, what the NICU policies were, and how important it was to take care of myself too. As I sat there alone, my husband having just left to get a few hours of sleep before returning with my son, Melora was a great source of comfort in such a foreign place. I will never forget her kind words. I will never forget the way she gently held my 2 pound 8 oz daughter in the isolette. I will never forget how I could see the love on her face for my baby even after only knowing her for a few hours. Unbeknownst to her, Melora had already become a part of our family. My sister, Amy had traveled from Pennsylvania to the hospital to be with me and meet Kerrigan. My sister was fortunate to meet Melora that day. I remember my sister telling Melora before she left, with tears in her eyes, that she had prayed that night that “my sister would have such a caring and compassionate nurse” to get me through such a difficult time. Prayers were definitely answered that day in more ways than one.
If I could, I would show you a video of my husband and son coming into the NICU on Kerrigan’s first full day of life. Our son, Cameron, age 4, was going to meet his baby sister for the first time. Melora was still on her shift and she was unbelievable in this video. She helped me to hold Kerrigan for the first time. She offered encouragement to me because it was scary to hold something that tiny, connected to so many wires and tubes. But most of all, you see her showing my son the whole process and explained to him in kid terms what she was doing and how they were helping Kerrigan to get better to come home to him. The video is priceless and will be cherished for the rest of our lives. Melora will always be known for her gentle spirit and loving ways.
From the bottom of our hearts, we thank all the NICU nurses and Melora for being such a part of our daughter’s life and getting her well enough to come home. We truly believe that nurses are angels in Heaven, sent down to Earth to help, care, nurture, and love those around them.
Melora is our angel.
I nominate Melora because of many different reasons. One particular, she was the first to greet me the morning after my daughter was born 13 weeks early. I had delivered close to midnight and the next day, I was anxious to see her and asked a nurse to wheel me to the NICU for the very first time since delivery. As soon as I got there, a nurse turned around and introduced herself to me as Melora. As I sat in my wheelchair, scared to death, she went over everything with me from how my daughter was doing, what the next steps were for her in treatment, what to possibly expect as setbacks, what the NICU policies were, and how important it was to take care of myself too. As I sat there alone, my husband having just left to get a few hours of sleep before returning with my son, Melora was a great source of comfort in such a foreign place. I will never forget her kind words. I will never forget the way she gently held my 2 pound 8 oz daughter in the isolette. I will never forget how I could see the love on her face for my baby even after only knowing her for a few hours. Unbeknownst to her, Melora had already become a part of our family. My sister, Amy had traveled from Pennsylvania to the hospital to be with me and meet Kerrigan. My sister was fortunate to meet Melora that day. I remember my sister telling Melora before she left, with tears in her eyes, that she had prayed that night that “my sister would have such a caring and compassionate nurse” to get me through such a difficult time. Prayers were definitely answered that day in more ways than one.
If I could, I would show you a video of my husband and son coming into the NICU on Kerrigan’s first full day of life. Our son, Cameron, age 4, was going to meet his baby sister for the first time. Melora was still on her shift and she was unbelievable in this video. She helped me to hold Kerrigan for the first time. She offered encouragement to me because it was scary to hold something that tiny, connected to so many wires and tubes. But most of all, you see her showing my son the whole process and explained to him in kid terms what she was doing and how they were helping Kerrigan to get better to come home to him. The video is priceless and will be cherished for the rest of our lives. Melora will always be known for her gentle spirit and loving ways.
From the bottom of our hearts, we thank all the NICU nurses and Melora for being such a part of our daughter’s life and getting her well enough to come home. We truly believe that nurses are angels in Heaven, sent down to Earth to help, care, nurture, and love those around them.
Melora is our angel.