Little Lora

I've tried several times to write this blog. But my thoughts become jumbled and they never quite flow right. Hopefully I'll get it this time. Several weeks ago, Gideon, Noah and I had dinner with our most favorite NICU nurse, Little Lora. We met at a Mexican joint near the hospital before her shift. She filled us in on the goings on at ol' Community North, and how some of our other nurse friends were doing. We in turn, showed off the little guy, and filled her in on the chewing, drooling, jabbering, climbing milestones we've been hitting lately. It was a nice visit. After she left, it got me thinking back on our days in the NICU. We saw Lora nearly daily. She was a breath of fresh air in a very lonely place. She is just a wonderful nurse, and I wonder sometimes does she know how special she is to us? I am sure Community is filled with many great nurses, we had a bevy of them ourselves, but Lora was just something else. She was above and beyond, and for that she will always be a good memory from our days there. She told me once that her mom was a nurse. I wasn't surprised. Many lessons she learned didn't come from nursing school. Lora is a wonderful nurse, but what makes her truly special isn't the procedures she can perform, it is the care she shows to her patients and their parents. She always knew just what we needed. She was quick with a joke to lighten the mood. On days when I needed a friend, she was there. Other days when I was angry at the world, Community North, and everyone in it, she silently did her job, making her presence as little known as possible. She caught me crying a handful of times, but never made mention if it. She knew boundaries well, and just knew exactly what we needed her to be at all times. And the care she showed Gideon will forever be with me. Knowing she, and the other nurses, cared so much for our boy, was just humbling. He was not merely a patient in room 6123A, he was Gideon. He was our baby. And he was special. The days after his birth are filled with memories for me. Some good, some bad. Lora is forever in those memories, and she has helped create many of the good ones. It is my hope that she knows what she means to us, and all of her patients in the NICU. The world is a more blessed place with her in it. And I thank God she was there when we needed her.