Hi Heather, I know this is years too late and I don't know if you will see this but I couldn't help msyelf. My best friend who has been reading your blog for years recently sent me a link to Mike's post On the Wings of a Nightingale . I am a NICU nurse and I cannot express how much I love my job. After reading Mike's beautiful words I went back and started reading your story from the beginning during the few minutes of calm that periodically arise during a night shift (needless to say it took me weeks to get through Maddie's time in the NICU!). It took all of a split second for me to fall hopelessly in love with you, Mike and Maddie. Despite the fact that I am meeting your incredible family years after these posts were written and I knew from the beginning that your time with Maddie was far too short, her passing was still shocking to me and I have to admit that I have spent the past few days sobbing as I work through your grief with you. I'm certain that three years later you know this already, and I hope that as I continue to read your moving words I will find a post that details your reconnection with your nurse, but I need to be sure that you know this: your angels are our angels and they change our lives as they change yours. Your nurse has never, and will never, forget Maddie. We remember every smile, every tear. The giggles and the snuggles are imprinted on our hearts and we cherish them as you do. Last year I had the privilege of caring for a little man that wasn't as lucky as Maddie. He lived only three months and never got to leave the hospital. Most importantly, he didn't have amazing parents like you and Mike. As a result I spent more time with him than anyone else in the world. He became my life and he changed me irrevocably. Tomorrow would have been his first birthday. I have thought of him and sent up a prayer for him every one of the last 364 days. I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt, your nurse thinks of Maddie, and of you, all the time and is thankful that she was able to be with you when you needed her so terribly.
![[PukiWiki]](image/ill-log.png "[PukiWiki]")
