I remember the first day I met Amanda (as my boy's nurse). I knew I was going to like her because of her calm, humble, and gentle spirit. During our twelve months of admission at University, I had many questions, and every time my family and I asked those questions or concerns, Amanda answered them with no hesitation. Not only did she answer my thousands of questions, but she would also take the time to educate me on that particular concern. I remember when my son first got admitted to University, and whenever there was a doctor by the bedside or doing rounds, and if Amanda was our nurse for that day, they'd always reassure us that "we were in great hands" with Amanda. I wasn't aware then (but I later realized why they said it) because they were right. I can recall the day when Amanda informed me she was officially my son's Primary Nurse. I wasn't familiar with the term, so I asked her, "How does one become his Primary Nurse?" " She replied by saying, "You had to sign up for it." When she told me that, it gave me so much joy because not only is Amanda a skillful nurse, but for someone to sign up to be our baby boy's nurse showed my family and me that she wanted to care for him and that she wanted to be assigned to him and be apart of his care.

There were days when I would see Amanda on the unit floor at work and not be assigned to him, and I have to admit, I wasn't a fan of that …LOL. I even questioned one of the charge nurses to see why she wasn't assigned to our son on every shift (because we needed Amanda with our son.) Eventually, I had to understand that we had to spread the love, and there were other nurses who did a great job. Our commute to see our little one was a 2-hour drive to and from the hospital daily, and there would be days (before leaving home) when I would call to check in on him and see who his nurse was for that particular day and whenever I'd hear that "Amanda has your boy," or "he has his Amanda," I knew that that day was going to be a good day and that I could stay home on that particular day and get some much-needed rest because I knew he was in good hands because she knew him and his needs.

Once he received his Trach, I knew that we (my family and I) had to start getting trained on Trach care in order for him to come home. Amanda was by far the best trainer throughout the entire process during the months we had to go over each and every task. I remember being so nervous and dreading the days when it was my day to "change the trach," but I loved doing the changes with Amanda because she gave me so much comfort, reassurance, courage, and confidence when I would doubt myself or get anxious. I can still hear her voice now in my head, cheering me on, saying, "Come on, you got it," and "You can do it, I'm right here if anything happens," seconds before she removed the old trach, and I had to put in the new one.

Or I can hear her voice reminding me to "always make sure you clamp the feeding tube close first" to avoid spilling milk or medicine all over the bed (which is what I did many times before), but she never got annoyed; she never got tired of reminding me of daily tasks or repeating the same steps over and over again. She always taught and spoke to me and my family with a positive attitude, positive energy, respect and with compassion. Her love, training, and compassion gave me the confidence that I have today to take care of him at home. Today, every time I step into a doctor's office or meet a nurse who is caring for him, I now have the confidence to know how to explain my baby boy's needs and also show how to care for him, all thanks to Amanda!