We were referred by our pediatrician to take our son to the PICU for a CT Scan. Within hours, we were told our son had a cancerous brain tumor; he is four. We were beyond distraught with more than a million questions. We were admitted to the hospital and he was to be prepped for surgery the next morning. Tonita was by far the most compassionate, polite, knowledgeable, and courteous nurse we have ever come in contact with at your facility. She answered my never ending questions regarding his care, what to expect, and did so with the utmost respect and empathy for my family during this difficult time.
We were fortunate to also have Tonita there after our son's surgery, to help answer any questions we had in regards to his condition and assisted in translating the mass amount of information we received from various doctors. She advocated for not only our son but for us, his parents, as well. Throughout the rest of our stay, we were appreciative of the dedication, commitment, and professionalism that Tonita demonstrated.
She even visited our family while we were still in the hospital to see if we needed anything, and to check on our son. I am sure we were not her only patient the three days we were there, but she took care of our son, and our family as if we were her own family, and after being told your four-year-old son has cancer, that is all you can hope for. She is beyond deserving of this award and should be viewed as a role model for all other nurses to follow. She has set a high expectation for our family in regards to how a nurse should provide for their patients, and we cannot imagine how we would've made it through those dark days without her exemplary care.