Congratulations to our NICU Superhero of the Year, Emma Cross!

     

We have crowned our NICU Superhero of the Year, congratulations to Emma Cross from the neonatal unit at King's Mill Hospital! We put all the names of our 31 nominated NICU Superheroes together, and Emma's name was chosen in a live draw which took place on our Facebook page earlier on today, you can watch the live draw here.

Nominated back in July by Euan's mum, Jade O’Mahony, Jade told us why she felt that Emma deserved this accolade:

"My baby boy, Euan, was born prematurely at 30 weeks and 5 days on 20th December. As time passed and the days were edging closer to Euan going home, I became poorly, and I thought I was really going to be ill and not be able to care for him. Eventually I was diagnosed with anxiety.

Fortunately, I had the support of Emma on the unit, she spoke with me about how the medication might affect me with my anxiety, so I knew what to expect, and it really helped to get all my concerns out and just be super honest with her. Emma really was a true mother figure in the unit and was an absolute hero to me, not judging me and understanding how everything affected me after my traumatic pregnancy, and my issues struggling with a baby on NICU. She is the kindest, sweetest and most genuine person I've met in a very long time. I honestly feel she deserves everything in life and more!

I would also like to add that she even helped my partner with advice when he damaged his arm after a fall and recommended where to go to be seen. Honestly, no words can describe how thankful I am for Emma; I really want her to be recognised for all the hard work she puts into her daily role as a NICU nurse. Please pass on my sincere thanks and lots of love from me, my partner Dale and our beautiful son Euan. xxx"

Congratulations again to Emma and thank you to Jade for getting in touch to share your nomination, and your story.

NICU Superhero Hall of Fame
Over this last year, 31 members from neonatal teams across the UK have been nominated by parents and thanked for the outstanding care their families received. You can view all those nominated in our NICU Superhero Hall of Fame.

Nominate your NICU or PICU Superhero
We look forward to sharing more parent nominations going forward, and we’d like to extend this to parents of children receiving treatment in Paediatric Intensive Care Units. If you would like to nominate your NICU Superhero, or your PICU Superhero, do get in touch or send us a direct message via our Facebook page. Just let us know who you’d like to nominate and why, and we’ll take care of the rest.

Here’s to another year of celebrating excellence!