We were 4 hours away from home when my 11-year-old son was admitted to the hospital struggling to breathe. The ER quickly admitted him and had him transferred to the pediatric unit. Being far away from home, in an unfamiliar place, and with a child struggling to breathe, I was so scared.

Upon arrival to the pediatric unit, we were greeted immediately by Shana. Shana greeted us with such a positive and calming attitude, reassuring me that he was in the right place and would be in good hands. We felt nothing but to be her number one priority. Her calming presence each time she arrived in the room gave me, a very worried mom, the strength to be strong in front of my son and hopeful for a good outcome. She not only went above and beyond checking in on him and making him feel comfortable, but continued to let us know what his status was, treatment changes, and goals for discharge. She gave us a feeling of confidence that our son was being closely monitored by her and the doctor because of her consistent explanation of everything along the way. She made goals with my son on things he needed to accomplish to be able to be discharged. He loved this and worked hard to meet those and loved it even more when he got to "check a box" once he met the goal. As with any situation in a hospital, things are stressful. But even more stressful when it is your young son, who is having a medical emergency you had not expected, and you are 4 hours from home.

We were blessed to have Shana's care all three days while we were there. You know she left a lasting impression when... I tucked my son in the first night at home and he said to me, "Mom, if this ever happens again can we go back to the hospital in Minnesota?"