... we received the phone call that no parent ever wants to receive. Our daughter had been severely injured when she fell 15 feet backwards onto concrete. Our daughter is attending school at JMU in Harrisonburg and we live in Delaware. When we got the call we were told that she was injured and being flown via helicopter to UVA Medical Center. The almost 5 hour ride for us to get there was pure torture. At one point our daughter was able to call us with the help from her nurse, Heather. We found out then that she had broken both wrists, left arm, left elbow, left leg, tailbone and her back. After she spoke with me on the phone, Heather got on and told me she was taking care of her and would be with her until she was transferred to another unit. I was hysterical but after talking to Heather on the phone a calm came over me knowing that she had such a compassionate nurse taking care of her. Heather had told me that she was going to be her Mama until I got there.

I've been a nurse myself for over 30 years and I needed the reassurance at that time that someone was taking care of my baby until I got there. She was in SICU for 2 days and when she would wake up she would ask for Heather and wanted us to meet her. When she was able to get out of bed we went to the ER to find Heather and thank her for what she had done for our family. Heather was one of the many angels who helped our daughter that night and we can never thank her enough! She will be our friend forever, and we know that our daughter has a Mama that's close to her in case she needs someone.

Heather went above and beyond that night in the ER for our daughter. We really believe that a person's emotional state and well being goes a long way in healing. Heather was there for the hardest, scariest night in our daughters life and she helped her through it. The extraordinary compassion that Heather showed that night went above and beyond. She is a kind, caring, compassionate nurse and a major asset to the UVA Health System.