My daughter (3 1/2) was one of the first group of kids to come through Helen Devos with a MIS-C diagnosis about a year and a half ago. At the time MIS-C was relatively unknown and there was no good way to confirm a diagnosis. This meant a lot of testing, a lot of people in and out of the room, and just a generally scary experience for an almost 2-year-old. As a result, my daughter has a lot of anxiety and apprehension to anyone wearing scrubs. Due to her MIS-C we have had many hospitalizations only expanding her anxiety and apprehension.

On our most recent visit, we had a nurse named Chris for two of three days. Chris was absolutely amazing. He went above and beyond to try to make my daughter laugh and feel comfortable with him. No matter how much she rebuffed his attempts he never showed a glimpse of annoyance and never gave up. He would bring her coloring books and play dough. He brought her bubbles to play with. He was incredibly attentive to not only her needs but ours as parents. If we needed information or had questions, he would get them resolved very quickly, which is no easy feat when juggling several PICU patients at once.

Having a child with so many medical issues has given my wife and I more medical knowledge than we would've liked to have. Chris never spoke to us like we were clueless and made us feel like we were a part of her treatment plan. When it came time for discharge, he made sure we had everything we needed even before we got the final clearance to leave. Overall, Chris is a phenomenal nurse and sincerely cared not only about our daughter as patient, but our family.