Naomi holds a very special place in my heart and was incredibly compassionate to us during our time there. You can tell she loves her job and has always been there for us. I was hospitalized due to severe preeclampsia in St. Cloud and couldn't leave the hospital until I had the baby, which they would take at 34 weeks, sooner if it was necessary. This was scary. My daughter, who was almost 2 years old, visited mom when grandma or dad could bring her. You could tell this was hard on her, as it was on all of us with Mom being away from home. Goodbyes were hard to do when family left the hospital after visiting me.

We knew when my son was born that he would go straight to the NICU, as we met with the NICU team the day I arrived in St. Cloud. Emotions were all over the place, given the unknown and what was to come. I did make it to 34 weeks and had my son via c-section. He came out crying and was able to take a quick photo with mom and dad, but then he was taken to the NICU as his breathing worsened. I had to go a couple of hours without knowing what was going on; my husband went to the NICU. It was hard being separated from your newborn, not being able to be in the same room, not knowing what exactly was going on, and not physically being there after he was born.

We had some wonderful nurses in the NICU; everyone was so great, but Naomi stood out and went above and beyond for my husband, me, and our new son, Braxton. She went above and beyond to explain things, making them more understandable and reassuring to us. She had such compassion for my son when she would do anything for him; you could see it in her actions every single time she did anything for him. She excelled at what she did. She would come and say hello and check on us, even when she wasn't our nurse for the day. We had a couple of scary scenarios where my son wasn't quite breathing, the button was pushed to alert everyone, and so many nurses filled that room. They all knew what to do and what had to be done. My husband was the only one present in my son’s room when this happened the first time, as I was in my post-partum room in the hospital at that time. My husband was terrified, traumatized, in tears, and very emotional about what he saw and would cry even just talking about it. Noami took the time to explain everything once he started breathing again. Noami was there for my husband when he was having a difficult time after this happened. She was so caring and was always there for us. She was our saving grace.

Being in that situation is the worst thing imaginable, and it's incredibly scary. Having your child in the NICU, let alone complications that can arise during their NICU stay, is something that nobody should have to go through, and many tears were shed throughout our stay. The very first time I left my son in the NICU to go home for one night to spend with my daughter, I didn't even make it out of the room, and I was bawling. Noami stopped me in the hallway, gave me a big hug, and listened to me, taking the time to make sure I was okay before I started walking again to leave. Having your children in two different areas is incredibly challenging.

Even on the darkest of days, when dealing with the unknown and unsure of what was going to happen, Naomi was truly there for us throughout it all. Not only was she the best nurse we had throughout our entire stay, but she also became more personable, sharing about her children, and you could tell she loved being a mom. After 2 weeks and 5 days, my son was discharged from the NICU and was able to go home. He is doing so well at home now-growing and eating like crazy. I don’t even have the words in the world to express our gratitude for Naomi; she holds a special place in our hearts, today and always.