Nicole has been nothing short of amazing with my son, from her attentiveness to his needs and comfort to her compassion for me. I am very grateful to have some of your best staff members here at Dayton Children's to care for my son during this stay, but my appreciation for Nicole goes even deeper. The last few days have been exceptionally hard on both my son and me, he is in an unbearable amount of pain from the complications of his feeding tube and it is apparent that he is still struggling to overcome his respiratory infection as well. Not having the proper responses to handle something as simple as a cold, he is ultimately dependent on those of us around him for things as simple as breathing. His neurological impairment puts him at a huge disadvantage when illness occurs and he has been so uncomfortable throughout this that he has often been inconsolable.

These last few days are the first signs I have personally seen that he is nearly recovered, and Nicole has done absolutely everything she is capable of in order to help him get back to his normal, playful, loving self. From suctioning him as often as required, to spending as much time as needed to give him his medications so as not to make him sick, to consulting with the doctors regarding anything else that may help him with his pain and discomfort while also arranging for them to meet with me and keep me informed as to what his plans and goals are for the remainder of his stay here. She has taken time to reassure me when I'm concerned, inform me when I'm confused and calm me when I've been frustrated. Most importantly, I know my son is in great hands if my attention is required elsewhere and I'm able to focus on doing everything I need to in order to prepare for him to return home. I have considerable experience in healthcare myself and it is often hard for me to sit back and just be a mother rather than nursing my son myself; over this weekend I have been afforded the opportunity to simply enjoy my son and take pleasure in the simpler things, like bathing him and just rocking him to sleep. Without the level of carethat Nicole has provided, I would have never been relaxed enough to take advantage of this time and I can't express just how much this means to me. I am beyond grateful that this woman has taken the time to really get to know my son in the way that is required to provide so much more than what she has to, going above and beyond the call of her profession and truly being an actual friend to my son- and myself.