My 15-month-old son had been experiencing unexplained eye swelling on and off for multiple days. On our first trip to the emergency room we received no answers, unfortunately, but my gut told me to bring him back again. So, I did. On the second trip to the emergency room, his workup revealed that he was very anemic. He received a blood transfusion that night and we were sent home to follow up the next week.

The follow-up comes and we are told to follow up again in one month. I still had that gut feeling I could not shake. Another morning comes and my sweet baby’s eyes were nearly swollen shut. I brought him back to the emergency room where we were set up to see Nurse Practitioner, MAJ Lugdon. The moment she entered the exam room and her eyes lit up at my son, I knew we were in the best hands. She answered all of my questions, redid the workup, and told us to come to see her again the next week. She communicated with us regarding his lab results and established a care plan as soon as she received the results, that evening.

The next week she ordered more tests to answer my biggest questions: "Why is this happening? Why or how did he become so anemic?" The tests displayed that my son was expelling blood in his stool and his hemoglobin levels were failing to raise or stabilize. She has continued to advocate for us, reassure us, and guide us through this unsettling time as parents. She has been in contact with us in between visits, following up on referrals and reaching out to our family in any attempt to ease our minds as we go through this process with our baby. She is the reason we found out the cause of his severe anemia. She listened to me, his mother when it felt like no one else was. She has been nothing short of incredible and accommodating. She has gone above and beyond for my son.