When my son was a baby, he was diagnosed with leukemia, and we spent 6 months living in this hospital. So when he turned 7 years old and he was admitted into the PICU for an unexpected emergency brain surgery we were no strangers to living in the hospital. During our 20+ day stay in the PICU, Vinny was there to support us through numerous surgeries and various ups and downs. There was one day during a critical time in recovery, my son got an unexpected fever, and Vinny not only acted quickly to care for my son, get him medicine, and take cultures to get us quick answers, but also could tell we were panicking and did his best to comfort us. He is a positive role model, and each day when Vinny was off of work my son would count down the days until he was back again. He was the sunshine when our days seemed so dark and something my son could look forward to. Vinny is caring and compassionate, and it is clear that he is meant for this special role in life. He explains things in a way that we understand, keeps us informed, and answers any questions we have. To us, he is an amazing nurse, but to my son, he will be remembered as a lifelong friend. When it was finally time to go home, my son actually cried at the thought of not seeing Vinny anymore, which says a lot about the impact he’s had on us. Lastly, in the words of my son, “Vinny is the best nurse in the whole entire world. He’s nice, tells funny jokes, and makes me laugh. I hope he wins an award!”