We brought our 2 yo son in for an Endoscopy and Sig-Flex. The last time J was at the hospital it literally took 6 people to calm him enough even to put him to sleep for the procedure. J has had numerous procedures already at his age and pretty much freaks out when anywhere near the hospital. In fact he freaked out so much last time that I came with my wife to Ohio from Texas just to lend moral support (it was very traumatizing for my wife as well). Needless to say this experience was night and day different. Kim took wonderful care of us and made J feel really comfortable to the point where he didn't have any issues at all. Not only that...but she was able to put my wife at ease at well, which isn't an easy task given that she is an Admissions Nursery nurse herself. We frankly DREAD taking J to the hospital for more tests/procedures...and this was by far the best experience we have had with him thanks to a very large part to Kim! She is a fantastic nurse and well worthy of this award!

J completely freaks out at hospitals. Even the sight of a doctor or nurse will set him off these days given the amount of times he has seen them. Kim did an exceptional job of keeping J at ease, and in so doing also was able to help us remain calm as well. Her patience and kindness made what is a normally very stressful and difficult time for our son a manageable one...and we are extremely grateful. I realize day surgery is usually a quick-in and quick-out type of thing and you may not realize the difference the staff can make. But to our family and son even something as simple as an endoscopy is a major stress-inducer and she made a HUGE different for us!

My wife is a nurse today in the Admissions Nursery, and used to be a NICU Nurse as well. So she knows a ton about babies. But when it comes to toddlers/bigger kids...and the disease our little one has (Eosinophilic Esophagitis) we have a ton of questions. Kim was very patient in listening to J's history and even recommended we pre-treat him with Albuterol prior to his procedure. This ended up being a major help as...per his history...he had trouble after the anesthesia and had to be suctioned and have 2 more treatments as well. That situation could have been much worse had he not done the pre-treatment...and that only happened because Kim listened to his past experience and recommended it.

As mentioned above Kim did a great job of keeping Jalen calm and my wife and I as well. Her patiently listening to J's history and not making us feel rushed was a large part of that. She was also wonderful with J in allowing him to get dressed in the gowns at his own pace, and allowing for him to take his medication in my wife's lap. This was absolutely one of the few experiences J has had in the hospital, and I have no doubt that Kim was a big part of that.

I think the example of the Albuterol treatment is a very good one. She certainly didn't need to recommend us doing it...it was only because she listened patiently to J's extensive history (which for a 2 year old is pretty sad) that we did it in the first place. In doing so she was better able to inform the other Doctors & Nurses on what to expect, which helped greatly especially when they tried to wake him from the procedure. Kim was also sweet enough to even check-in after to ensure everything went OK.