Grace started taking care of my 3 year old daughter in the PICU at Riley beginning of January. From the first day we had her she made sure to learn about my daughter and make sure to advocate for her. My daughter was intubated so having people advocate for her was very important as she could not tell us herself how she was feeling. Grace made sure to not only take care of her for all her medical needs but she also went above and beyond to do other things for her like paint her nails to make her feel pretty, put her favorite movies on for her, rub her head because she knew she loved all those things.

While taking care of my daughter, she also made it known to me that helping me was important. We had many long conversations, from laughing to crying. While Grace was our nurse, we learned my daughter would be passing away soon, and Grace did everything in her power to make sure my daughter and I were comfortable and cared for. She held me while I cried and let me share all my stories of my daughter because she knew that made me feel better. She also helped me decorate for my daughter's birthday 2 days after we found out we would be losing her soon because she knew her birthday meant a lot to me and to her.

Even now that my daughter has passed, she still stays in contact with me and makes sure I’m okay. She truly made a huge impact on my life in the 3 weeks we had her. In just three short weeks, she got to know me and my daughter so well, and I could feel how much she truly cared for my daughter from the day she met her. I met a lot of nurses in the year my daughter had cancer, and you don’t meet a nurse like Grace every day.