The level of care and compassion that Sam showed not only to my daughter but also to myself during our stay was phenomenal and outstanding each and every day. Sam dug deep to try and think of solutions to help my daughter through her pain, to get her to eat and drink, and to help comfort her when she was scared. She also researched each of my daughter's medications to ensure that one of the new medications wasn't the reason for her high blood pressure and then communicated the information she found to our team during rounds.
Sam advocated for my daughter on numerous occasions and ensured my questions were relayed to our team between rounds. She never once made me feel that I was asking too many questions or asking for too many heat packs. She kept us in the loop with the plan of care each step of the way, even giving us the idea to write down questions for the team beforehand so that we didn't miss anything, but when I did miss something, she asked on my behalf. Rounds move quickly and it's easy for a parent to forget a question. Sam took time in our room to sit with us and just be present, listening to my daughter's stories and laughing at her jokes - her laugh is quite contagious! Not one time did Sam leave our room without ensuring we didn't need something before she left, and if she saw us in the hallway, she would always stop to check in.
This was the first time my daughter had ever been hospitalized. I was so scared and worried about her health, but having Sam as our nurse made it a little less scary. My daughter would even wake up in the morning and ask if Sam was going to be there today and was happy to see her, even when she was feeling awful. The level of care that she provided will always stay with us, and I am so thankful that she was with us for most of our stay. She truly was a ray of sunshine in the stormy week we had, and I wish I could thank her ten times over.