Our daughter was admitted to the ICU after an attempt to take her own life. No parent wants to hear this news, but we immediately drove from California to Arizona to see our daughter in the hospital. Upon our arrival to the ICU at 4:00 am, this nurse was smiling and did not even look tired after having worked nearly a 12-hour shift. He introduced himself as our daughter’s nurse and began filling us in with information that we desperately needed to know. He could have just brushed us off or told us that we could discuss her condition with the doctor. Instead, Dallas took his time explaining why she was hooked up to so many machines. He patiently explained to us the reasons why and that it was for her good to be hooked up to all these machines. Who in their right mind would want to see their daughter like that? Especially after driving six hours, well into the wee hours of the night! But the way Dallas talked to us, explaining and reassuring us that she is in great care and that the medical team assigned to her is doing their best. That, for me, consoled this mother’s heart so broken and in tears, seeing her baby like that. 

Anybody can study and succeed in becoming a nurse. But not everyone can have the heart and compassion to give the time and explain to a parent what is happening to their child, who is lying in that ICU bed. To Dallas, we thank you for doing what you do. Keep up the good work as you make a difference every day in someone’s life!