I've had the pleasure of working with Laura for 7 years on 8D. Over this time, I have always admired her nursing skills and her dedication to pediatric cardiology. She has always served as a role model and taken the time to teach her skills to others. Physicians trust her and nurses admire her. She puts her patients first and is relentless in advocating for them. These traits and qualities were even more evident with one of our most recent patients.

The patient came to 8D without any previous visits or established heart defects. He developed Cardiomyopathy and became very sick very fast. Throughout his 53 days that he stayed at MUSC, Laura was dedicated to being with him every step of the way. Exemplary nurses stay by their patient's side through the good and the bad, and Laura is no exception to this. On one particular weekend shift, Laura cared for this patient the entire weekend. As the weekend progressed, the patient's health deteriorated, and Laura was not only able to recognize that, but also advocated relentlessly to the attending physician that the patient needed more progressive care.

During one of her shifts, Laura stayed by her patient's side as he lay on floor in pain. She had the forethought to have another nurse cover her more stable patients as she took the time to holistically care for this patient. As the patient lay there, she was not only taking care of him physically, but emotionally. This patient was not a fragile young child that was easily soothed; in fact, he was a once athletic 16-year-old who was afraid to show his fear and vulnerability. Laura, as she spent hours with him in his most vulnerable state, was able to perform a side of nursing that no one else could for him. She was able to get him the treatment he needed by staying vigilant in communicating with the medical team, while soothing him and making him feel safe and cared for.

Can you imagine being 16, going from being healthy and independent, to lying on a bathroom floor with a stranger? How terrifying. Laura was able to take a situation that could have been detrimental and turn it into a moment in his hospital stay that changed his course of action. From that moment on, the medical team really began to recognize how sick this patient was and how he needed much more intense care in the PCICU.

Laura's advocacy and nursing care didn't stop just because he was transferred to another unit. Laura still played a vital part in his care. She visited him during her shifts, talked with the medical team about his treatment, and was even a key element in his care when he received the first LVAD of its kind in the Children's Hospital. She attended all education in-services, sat in on care conferences, and gave us all perspective into the patient's life and psyche that we would never have known if it was not for her. She gave us a holistic view into his care. If it was not for Laura sitting on the bathroom floor for hours with the patient, encouraging him, encouraging the team, educating us, cheering him on, and staying heavily involved in his plan of care, his course of action and plan of care could have been much different and much harder.

I cannot thank her enough for all of her dedication and hard work with not only this patient, but every patient that she cares for. She is a vital team member on 8D and a nurse that inspires me daily.