ATTN: Douglas F. Dean, Jr. President and CEO, The Elliot Hospital, Manchester, NH
August 29, 2010
Dear Sir,
We are writing to you to commend the work of the entire NICU staff, who have provided outstanding care for our newborn daughter and ourselves, every day and night since our arrival here one month ago. We wish to express our deepest gratitude to the hospital, the NICU and to all of the people who have helped our daughter at every turn, in every possible way, and supported our family through what has been the most difficult time of our lives.
To explain, our second daughter, Alma, was born at Exeter Hospital on July 29 of this year in gravely difficult circumstances, due to umbilical cord prolapse and prolonged oxygen deprivation. Alma was resuscitated and immediately transferred to the Elliot NICU, where she has been ever since. We have been here all this time as well; the NICU has essentially been our home for this month. In time, it became clear to the doctors here that Alma had suffered severe and irreparable cerebral injuries, and we now know that she will live out the entirety of her life here.
The NICU staff, of every role and rank, have cared for our daughter and for us in the most empathic, generous, respectful, sensitive and professional way throughout this time. We have been moved by the kindness of the staff and unfailingly impressed by the levels of care and dedication here. The staff have done everything imaginable to help guide us through this crisis. After one month, we know most of the staff by name, and they know us. That mutual recognition is exemplary of the degree of personal attention and genuine concern with which they carry out the work of healing and comforting fragile infants and their families.
In particular, we wish to commend those staff who have worked with us intensively throughout Alma’s life. Our nurses Alyssa, Jenn, Kim, Lori, Melina, Nancy, Rose and Sylvia, among many others, have been with us day and night, have held, bathed, changed and comforted our daughter as we have during her brief and tumultuous life. They know her as we do, and share our love and concern for her. We cannot fully express the relief they have brought us amidst our struggle.
Doctor Kevin Petit guided us through the first weeks of Alma’s life, from her arrival at the NICU. Dr. Petit and colleagues, Doctors Earnest Beale, Malgorzata Bulanowski, Deborah Franzek and Kara Murphy, made themselves available to us on a daily basis, conveyed detailed information on Alma’s health with honesty and humility, answered our every question, and went out of their way to engage with us during the painful process of understanding Alma’s future. They listened to our observations, took time to carefully assess Alma’s condition, and supported us in our search for guidance, inside and outside the hospital.
We would also like to thank and commend Practitioners Amanda, Andrea, Mark and Michelle, Occupational Therapist Shari, Maternity Nurse Katrina, Obstetrician Dr. Heidi Meinze, Pediatric Neurologists Dr. Brian Kossak and Dr. Anne Woods, Social Worker Ashley, Postpartum Counselor Allison, receptionists Dara, Gayle, Megan and Melody, Financial Counselor Nancy and Reverend Carol for their kindness, counsel and compassion for Alma and for us. We also wish to thank those many NICU staff people who we met only on occasion, but all of whom were gracious and helpful to us at every opportunity.
In addition to the remarkable individuals we came to know during our time here, we have come to know the NICU as a caring and dedicated community of people, who make an outstanding professional impression. Their work is the reason that we will always remember Elliot Hospital with the greatest respect and appreciation, despite the tragic nature of our time here. We wish to express our deepest gratitude to you for the remarkable care that we and our daughter have received.
Yours,
Alma’s Parents
Ned Lazarus and Nahanni Rous
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