When I heard of the DAISY Award, I had a nurse I had to nominate. The nurse that came to mind right away is Kim Campbell. Our son Oliver was a patient in your NICU in 2011 for 9 weeks. He was born at one pound twelve ounces and needed a lot of care. Kim worked the night shift, and every evening she was our nurse, this was like having a loving member of our family come and take care of him. We had never met her before but that it was hard to imagine after just a few hours of Oliver being in her care. She not only cared for our little baby like he was one of her own, she also was there for our family. I had three children at home and missed them terribly as I was living in the Ronald McDonald house while my husband took care of the other children at home. Kim would talk to me about having faith and hope that Oliver would be home in due time and we would be home together soon. Sometimes just talking about my family with Kim made things feel almost normal in a time that was definitely not. She talked and cared for Oliver with respect and like he was just any other little boy. This gave me hope that he would be going home. Oliver eventually went home to our family.

This past May, Oliver became very ill. We, of course, went to St. Mary's. He ended up having major bowel surgery and ended up in the PICU for 21 days. He ended up with ARDS and on a ventilator for 18 days. To say the least it was the scariest moment we have ever experienced as a family. We were scared, worried, and overwhelmed by it all. Once again there was Kim. She watched over our little boy just as if he was in the NICU with her. She made sure we knew all that was going on, she helped us understand all that we could not, and most of all she was there to hug us and hold our little boy's hand when we needed to rest. Kim was there for us every day in the PICU. We could call her, she would stop by, and she was a helpful calming presence in a very scary time. Even the day her daughter graduated high school she checked on our little boy.

Not once did Kim ask anything of us, to her it was just about doing her job, being a nurse. When I think of all that Oliver has been through and all that he has overcome, I cannot go without thinking of how St. Mary's was such a large part of getting him to where he is today, a happy, funny, lovable three year old. I have always been in awe of every nurse, doctor, and respiratory therapist that has crossed Oliver's long path through your hospital, each one of them treating my little boy with amazing skill and compassion.

To Kim she is just doing her job, just caring for a patient. For us Kim will always hold a special place in our hearts. When I think of the type of nurse I would want I would point to Kim. She is a nurse through and through. A nurse that truly cares for every patient she comes across, making a difference in our lives and caring for us in a time of life that we needed caring for the most. Our family will never be able to thank Kim enough. Nominating her for the DAISY Award is as close as we can get, if we could we would give Kim a dozen DAISY Awards.