Our daughter suffers from is a gene mutation that causes vital organs to grow tumors. Having any child contained in a room for days is stressful. You throw in what our daughter is going through and it can be a nightmare. Gabby was our “night nurse” and our daughter loved her! It is rare for our daughter to show any type of emotion towards anyone. Gabby would come in and our daughter would just light up! Gabby made our stay feel just like home! They would chat for a little bit and play with her toys, Gabby would take the time to really try and bond with our daughter. She would bring her favorite stickers and sit and talk about the pictures on them. She would listen to what she was trying to say.

Gabby truly put such an effort into understanding our daughter and how she functions and thinks. Our daughter has been in and out of the hospital too many times to count over the years and we have never had an experience as we did with Gabby. Gabby was able to truly touch our daughter’s heart with her genuine and calm nature. Our daughter would get excited any time the door opened with the hopes that it was Gabby walking through. Gabby was able to connect with our daughter on a level that most nurses seem to struggle with. It is not any other nurses’ fault; our daughter is a rare child, and her mind is a beautiful thing. It turns out that Gabby is just as beautiful, and her level of understanding and compassion should be recognized.

We have met tons of nurses over the years and never one like Gabby! She was truly incredible! American Family Children’s Hospital is very lucky to have a rare gem like Gabby. I can only hope that our next visit to the EEG floor is blessed with her presence again! It has been weeks and our daughter wears the “nurse badge” Gabby made her with a smile. A smile is rare to see on her. Thanks, Gabby, our daughter has felt love and acceptance like no other.