A Tribute

Last week we got some heartbreaking news... The girls' pediatrician suddenly and unexpectedly passed away! He was only 39 years old (survived by his wife and 4 young children)! This news is devastating. We just took the girls in to see him a few weeks ago. Dr. Nielson was a great man will always hold a special place in our hearts!

He helped save Merrilee's life when she was only 8 days old! He saw her, took her stats, and said we needed to go to the hospital right away. If we would have waited any longer, Merrilee might have died! (Her oxygen levels were in the 60%s and "normal" is in the 90%s! She was so dehydrated it took them 2 hours just to find a vein to put an IV in her to get some fluids pumping in her body...FYI she had RSV and pneumonia...poor baby) He visited us and Merrilee at the hospital every day and was so kind and reassuring.

Dr. N was large in stature (very tall) but had the most gentle, loving touch with children.  Every "well-child" visit and every "sick-child" he would make me and the girls feel at ease.

The then Alice came! When Alice was born, Dr. N was already at the hospital doing his rounds, so he checked Alice out and came in to offer his Congratulations to us. Then, when we started noticing Alice's little eye and other minor things, he was so helpful in getting us with the right people and getting the right tests done.: eye doctor, physical therapist, oncologists, etc. He would call us occasionally with lab results, or just to check up on how things were going during some of the tough times.

Dr. N always seemed so genuinely concerned and caring for our two little ones and us. He was the best pediatrician we could have asked for through all of the rocky stuff and happy stuff with our girls. I am having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that we will have to find a different pediatrician for our girls...one who does not know us or the medical history etc. In my eyes, Dr. Nielson  is truly irreplaceable! Dr. N, you will truly be missed!