At 14, our son L was diagnosed with a rare form of AML. L completed 3 rounds of chemo before undergoing a stem cell transplant in December of 2020. While L was in-patient at Lurie recovering from the transplant, Kim was assigned to L'ss care team. We connected with Kim immediately. She is friendly, funny, witty, and likable, while being on top of her game medically. At L's discharge, we were disappointed at the thought of not seeing Kim anymore. Then she told us that she had just been in-patient temporarily, and that her primary position was out-patient stem cell care on the 18th floor. She would be the main one completing L's frequent well-checks, so we were thrilled!

Kim has consistently empowered L to take charge of his own health in the best way for him. For example, post-stem cell, L had to take a lot of medicines, and Kim made it more manageable by creating a medication schedule around L's regular routines. In February, L had another disease check, and suspicious cells were found. L went onto a maintenance chemo regimen, and his care transferred from K's team back to the hemotology/oncology team. L soldiered on with chemo until we noticed skin lesions which worsened over time. Also, L's weight which had stayed down since the transplant, was plummeting. His spirits were extremely low, and we were extremely worried about him. L's overall health was at stake and had to be addressed. We were told that Kim would come and see L, and we felt very relieved knowing how capable and thorough she is.

In late September 2021, Kim walked in to see L for the first time in about six months. This memory of Kim vividly stands out as remarkable. She was utterly shocked to see L looking so much different from when last she'd seen him post-transplant. Kim quickly pulled out a pen and began looking for something to write on, grabbing a paper towel from the room dispenser. Beginning a rapid-fire list of questions and copious note-taking, Kim went on for about 45 minutes. Finally she shared her suspicions: L had developed chronic GvHD (Graft vs. Host Disease.) Initially, L's stem cell team treated the GvHD with oral medicines. These were effective at first, but over time, they determined that different treatment options would need to be pursued. L's team decided to use ECP or photopheresis, which is a highly successful treatment in GvHD patients, but it is a slow-resulting, time-consuming process. Kim continually reminded L and me to be patient, kindly informing us that L would eventually achieve a positive outcome from ECP. During this past spring, while L was receiving treatment at Lurie, I broke down several times from all the stress of caregiving and the frustration of L's health battles. Kim listened and offered helpful words of encouragement. She has done the same for L many times, too, always with a smile and a laugh! Kim has been steadfast in her compassionate care of L's GvHD. She has been fiercely relentless in finding minimally invasive ways to treat L's disease, like honoring our wish not to surgically implant another access line for IV medications and procedures, such as ECP. She has communicated and advocated on L's behalf with other Lurie staff as well as other medical professionals in L's life who are not at Lurie, like L's occupational and physical therapists, dentist, podiatrist, and school nurse. She urged us to call her anytime for questions or concerns.

Striving to make L's life less complicated, Kim offers practical advice. Kim is realistic such as the time when his bloodwork showed that L was low on salt, Kim suggested he drink a Gatorade every day instead of taking yet another pill. One of the ways Kim has impressed us the most is how she has motivated L to live as normal a life as he can (going to school, traveling, hanging out with friends, eating out in restaurants, etc.) and has worked hard alongside us to make that happen. To sum it up, L, his dad, his 3 older brothers, and I all strongly believe Kimberly Powers is a true DAISY Nurse. . Kim is a highly intelligent, dedicated, and caring professional who is an incredible APN and an incredible person!!!