Our son was in the NICU in December for nearly 3 weeks. The majority of that time, he was intubated and on life support. We were told daily that he would not live. It is a miracle that our son is alive and thriving today. Our son is a remarkable testament to God's love and faithfulness. We have received many blessings, one of which is Yajaira Krebsbach.

Yajaira, or as we came to call her “YaYa” or “Auntie YaYa,” was one of our many wonderful NICU nurses. I remember the first or second day we were in the NICU with our son when I saw Yajaira with her patients, thinking she looked so kind and carried the love of Jesus with her. I wished she was our baby’s nurse. It turns out that the next day, she was his nurse and became his primary nurse, meaning that anytime she was at work, he was her patient.
Sitting in the NICU all those days with our baby, we got to know the nurses very well, as they got to know us, too. Yajaira is not only a hardworking, dedicated, and competent nurse but also a beautiful soul with a wonderful personality. God truly brought her to us, not only in the hospital but in our lives as well.

Yajaira sat with us and supported us at any time she was needed and more. There were times when she would delay her breaks to ensure that we and our baby were taken care of. She encouraged and helped my husband and me eat and take breaks, saying she would sit with our baby and hold his hand. Yajaira helped me hold my baby in the hardest times, taking pictures of our family that we will cherish forever. Yajaira made us laugh when we needed some humor and lightening up, but she also gave me a shoulder to cry on and even cried with me. We felt comfortable leaving our baby boy with Yajaira because we knew he was in the best hands.

We were in the NICU over Christmas. Yajaira went out of her way to ensure the holidays were still special for my little family. She made multiple ornaments for us, including a family picture and a clay ornament of his footprint. She helped decorate our baby's NICU room for Christmas, too, which meant the world to us. On top of all that, she dressed him up as Santa, did a little photoshoot with him and made posters for his room, it was the cutest thing I’d ever seen!
We made it a priority to put scripture and prayers on our baby’s walls, as well as worship music playing in his room. Yajaira was so thoughtful in helping us with this and prioritized it with us. If we didn’t have our personal devices to play worship music on, Yajaira used either the computer in the room or her personal phone to play worship music in his room while we were gone.

Most important of all, Yajaira had and held on to hope with us. She had hope with us in times no one else did. She helped us focus on "Our baby's Miracles" each day. She was always encouraging and positive, even as she helped us understand the medical aspects of what was happening with our baby. She held us up, even while doing her job, so wonderfully, too. I looked forward to a new day when Yajaira was our nurse and dreaded when she wasn’t there! She was there when our baby woke up for the first time, when he was extubated, on his first Christmas, and more! Our families got to know and love Yajaira, too; they still ask how she’s doing as Yajaira and I continue to keep in touch. Yajaira still cares about our baby and our family, even when she is not “just our nurse”. She has committed to coming to every one of his birthday parties and he will always know her as “Auntie YaYa”.

While there is more I could say about Yajaira, Yajaira is truly made for this line of work, and we are beyond blessed to have gotten to know her. Yajaira is a dedicated nurse, demonstrating extraordinary compassion and skill in both patient care and beyond. Yajaira is very deserving of this recognition and award. She is an inspiration and a strong part of our son’s life story, and an experience we will never forget. CHI and NICU parents are blessed to have Yajaira caring for our local NICU babies.