Anyone who knows us well knows “Nurse Maureen.” We’re happy to share that Maureen is a finalist in the 2018 March of Dimes Nurse of the Year contest. I was so honored to write the nomination letter and we are so proud of our sweet friend for being selected as a finalist. Her desire to serve people is unrelenting. She is confident, yet humble, strong, yet sensitive and steadfastly hopeful. My heart is full of love, admiration and appreciation for this woman.
Although Max resided in the first NICU for a month, Maureen was not his nurse until the final day. I’d spent weeks growing close to a handful of nurses and had only seen her a couple times. But there she was that final, very difficult day and it was as if she’d been there all along. Meeting Maureen was one of those life-changing moments you look back on and, like witnessing a miracle, all you can say is “wow.”
When Max was released from the second NICU at 6 weeks old, he had an NG tube and could not attend daycare as we had planned. I spent the final two weeks of maternity leave on the phone with my insurance company and various nursing agencies, trying to find someone who could care for Max when I went back to work. When I decided to reach out to Maureen, I kept my expectations low, sure that she wouldn’t want to take on a side job. How happy I was to be wrong.
She went on to care for Max for 18 months, three days a week in her home. When she had to give her notice, I quit my job and became a stay at home mom. My friendship with Maureen has only grown stronger since. She has been there for my family and for me, personally, in a multitude of ways over the past seven years and I love her with all my heart.
She’s my angel on earth. She is everything I aspire to be as a person and everything I pray future nurses will become. May all NICU patients be so lucky to be loved and cared for by a nurse as devoted as Maureen McIntosh.