My granddaughter was brought by ambulance from Camp Pendleton to Balboa Naval Hospital in severe Covid distress. She is 5 years old and has an extensive medical history resulting in many stays at Balboa. I stayed with L many nights here at this hospital when she was younger before I moved back to Texas so have seen many nurses come and go. I flew in from Texas on Wednesday to be with L as her mother was also Covid positive and in her 3rd trimester of surrogacy.

This was L's first stay having Niko as her nurse and from the moment I arrived at the hospital, we got nothing but 5-star service from this young man. His bedside manner was a true blessing. Not only was he attentive, knowledgeable about his job, and very pleasant to L, but he also took the time to make sure I was taken care of and comfortable as well since we were in the negative pressure room for 5 days under quarantine. Niko was our day nurse all 5 days. Niko went above and beyond the call of duty. He interacted with my nonverbal granddaughter and made “friends” with her. By day 3 she smiled when she saw him. In all the time we have been admitted to Balboa in the past there has only been a few nurses that truly went above and beyond, and Niko actually ran circles around them. Niko is a true hero and the definition of a wonderful nurse! We hope to have him on L's service the next time she is admitted.