Masuda was the only nurse who could make S (2 yrs. Hepatoblastoma) smile and talk to her. Over a week of staying at the hospital, S had to go through a lot of painful procedures until she was finally diagnosed with Hepatoblastoma.
Masuda managed to be friends with S. She even let Masuda draw blood/take vitals without complaining most of the time. Despite being not fond of strangers, S and Masuda did connect well. We even had to request Masuda to be assigned to our room because S kept asking her name.
Later on, we asked Masuda what made her to special to S - she then explained how she fought with cancer years back. Masuda said she was an oncology patient at Inova Children's Hospital years back.
We believe Masuda's past experiences gave her the ability to do her job with passion and love. We were very surprised by S and Masuda's friendship and believe Masuda should be a symbol to others.

Note: This is Masuda's 2nd DAISY Award!