Our son had airway repair surgery. He spent a week intubated and under heavy sedation, and then went back to the operating room to check on the new airway graft. During that week, my son also developed rhinovirus/enterovirus and was very hard to keep stable as he needed lots of suctioning and pulmonary clearance, but could not be moved because of the new graft. Kiara had him numerous times that week and provided nothing but excellent care.

Shortly after the graft was looked at, and thankfully looked great, my son had an episode of desaturation initially of unclear etiology. I stood in the hallway and watched as Kiara and the doctor worked together as a team to stabilize my son. Their teamwork was textbook for what excellent care should look like. Kiara was able to keep up with all the changes in my son's medication drips, the addition of new medications, labs, imaging, you name it, Kiara was on it.

Due to my son's extensive health history, I am no stranger to watching him struggle. No stranger to seeing his saturations in the 60s or lower. The teamwork demonstrated by Kiara and the doctor was something I've not seen very often. Kiara is an example of what excellent nursing looks like and needs the highest level of recognition one can provide.

After a very eventful three weeks, my son was discharged from the hospital with only a scar on his neck and chest as proof of what he had gone through. I know, however, that the hard work of Kiara, his other nurses, doctors, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, care coordinators, and environmental service personnel is all responsible for the fact that I have a healthy, happy, and wild toddler back at home with his family. Thank you, Kiara and team, for helping our family reach the ultimate goal of good health for our boy!