Kelsey’s face has been a ray of sunshine after a dark storm of disastrous proportions. This morning she arrived for an extra Friday morning shift because she wanted to provide continuity of care for my son after being with him for several days straight. She displays the sweetest, most reassuring manner toward my son and our family. Her intelligent expertise enables my son to communicate his needs while he is on a ventilator.

He had a specific inquiry that was frustrating him, and she spent time examining all likely possibilities until she identified the question he had, and then answered it knowledgeably for him. Then she took time to thoroughly brush his teeth and do a number of little extras for him to make him feel comfortable. Her patients can tell she genuinely cares about them since she says she wants to come back for them. The gift of compassion and the desire to help that she exhibits is evident and probably the most important thing to the patient. She encourages my son to stay positive and succeeds by making him want to do that, even at the beginning of a very long road to recovery, which is full of unknowns. She arrives to work early to get information from the previous nurse, and she stays late to thoroughly brief the next nurse who replaces her. She answers all questions from the family and comforts them too.

When she speaks to my son, her sweet voice comforts him and convinces him to try to go on. As a mother, I feel confident that my son is receiving the best level of care possible because of her obvious experience and dedication. It’s also evident that she has dedicated her life to making a difference for each individual she might affect, and I’m thankful when she’s taking care of my son.