“Oh who are the people in your neighborhood?
The people that you meet each day.”

Today Casey turns 60. 60 days that is. Two of the most roller coasterish months of my life. Keao and I have seen the mountaintop highs, the valley lows and seemingly everything in between. I’m not going to try to rehash the last two months because it would probably be too emotional, but I will say that we’re still chugging along and trying to keep afloat. Thank you all for coming along this journey with us. We would not be where we are today if not for you.

I’ve decided that since Keao seems to have the larger more loyal fan base and I have maybe four regular readers (and you know who you are) I would let Keao handle the play-by-play and I would do the color commentary. So keep a lookout for her blogs on Sundays and Wednesdays. Mine will continue to be sporadic. By the way, if you don’t know where her blog is you can find it here.

They say it takes a village to raise a child. One couple cannot do everything themselves. The first time I really heard this phrase being used was right after Mikey and Liz gave birth to their first child Haley. I thought they said it just so that they could make their friends babysit and change stinky diapers (which they did liberally). Of course, we love them and had no problems being a part of their village (in fact it provided excellent practice for Casey and Haley and Lexie are two of the coolest little girls around). But after spending 60 days with Casey in the NICU I have truly come to understand the meaning of the phrase.

Right after Allison passed away, the Kaiser staff moved us into a different room. It turned out to be a great idea as we would not have been able to manage visits to her old room. As we entered the new room we were a little hesitant and nervous (not to mention emotional) but one of the nurses came and gave us a hug. We thanked her for her kindness and she turned, smiled and said, “don’t worry, you’re family.” Indeed after two months of being with the NICU staff, they are indeed family. Other than work or sleep, we spend more time there than anywhere else. So it would make sense that we have become quite close with the staff.

Over the next month or so I’ll try to highlight some of the wonderful people we have met in the NICU. Not everyone wants to be in a blog so I will definitely respect their privacy (that’s my little clause in case you don’t get mentioned) but for those that don’t mind, watch out, you’re about to be introduced to my four regular readers.

Keao chastised me for saying that Mariko may be our number one nurse. Let me clarify that I did not say she was our number one nurse but simply that some may say she’s our favorite. Who is that “some”? Dunno. But it’s out there. The truth is we’re quite fond of all of our nurses. Like I said earlier, they’re family.

So today’s feature spotlight falls on the very popular Aunty Arlene!

I know I’m not the first to feature Arlene in a blog and that is just a testament to how incredible she is. She is one of the most gentle and kindest people I have ever met (and not to brag, but I have met quite a few people in my day). While her communication skills with us are wonderful she really excels with Casey.

You know she loves her job because that smile is ever present.

One night I ended up talking to this one nurse, who we won’t name, but whose name is remarkably similar to Arlene, and I mentioned that she never takes care of Casey anymore. She responded by telling me that it’s most likely because Arlene was working that night. She went on to say that Arlene is “great with preemies.” Comforting I thought, but shouldn’t all the nurses be great with preemies? Correcting herself, this unnamed nurse replied, “Micro-preemies. Arlene is exceptional with micro-preemies.”

Here she is placing Casey ever so gently on my thick, muscular chest

One of the wonderful traits of Arlene is her thoughtfulness. We normally call ahead to let the staff know when we’re coming in so if there’s anything special we need to do or know about we can be prepared. Little did I know that sometimes when we call ahead they prepare for us as well. It is not uncommon to come in and see the room set up like this:

One chair for me, one chair for Keao

This set up may not look like a lot, but it really is. One chair is there for the parent that is carrying Casey (complete with a pillow for under your bum) and the other is set up with a little table to do some work or write thank you cards. Who else but Arlene would set up the room like this for us? Seriously, who else? She’s the only one that does it. In the biz, I would imagine it’s that kind of preparedness that gives Arlene such an edge on the competition.

Another night I mentioned that I had a hard time dressing Casey (in my defense, it was my first time and she’s extremely small and squirrelly). Next time we come in what do we find?

Not Casey

Arlene had brought in a doll so I could practice my dressing technique. Since I had never been a girl and had never played with dolls, I had never learned to dress them (good thing GI Joes and He-Man’s clothes weren’t removable). Not content to leave me to learn and struggle Arlene gave me a crash course. She demonstrated and then made me practice. And practice. And practice until I got it right. Now I can dress Casey in a flash. Thanks Coach Arlene!

Lastly, with Arlene, you never know what kind of little surprises will show up every now and then (when I say lastly, I mean lastly in this post. Arlene has many other outstanding features, like her trademark braid, but I’d be writing for a few more hours if I tried to list them all). We first noticed a name tag. When we asked to made it and stuck it on Casey’s isolette everyone guessed it was Arlene (turns out they were right). Then we saw one month old card. Followed by some beautiful pictures. Nothing breaks up the monotony of coming to the hospital every day like find little treasures every now and then (Arlene, if you’re reading this, we’re not trying to pressure you into making us more cards, you’ve done so much already).

Here’s a little sampling of what Casey has received (took it with my phone so the picture doesn’t do it justice)

But I really believe that working in the NICU is a calling. It’s not for everyone. Dealing with preemies, parents, other staff. I’m sure that it can be a brute. Luckily for us we found a nurse who I believe is definitely walking in her calling and by doing so manages to bless us and everyone else as well.

Thank you Aunty Arlene! We are so thankful that you are taking care of Casey and in our lives!