Christina exemplified the spirit of Mercy and the ICU during her time as an extern and now as a technician. She was recognized by the president of Mercy Hospital publicly for her published writing about her experience. Her words contributed to the improvement in vaccination rates and numbers immediately following the Delta surge. She is going to be an amazing nurse and deserves recognition for her spirit and dedication despite the toll Covid-19 has taken on her. She never for a moment allowed it to alter the quality of her performance and the depth of her compassion. 

Christina's love and dedication to her patients boggles my mind. She consistently sees their humanity in the most inhuman of situations: gory, violent codes, drugged-out kids dying of liver failure, the broken bodies of trauma victims, and withered dementia patients who don't know their own names. Christina fights for their dignity with a deep respect for the soul that lives in the body that she is helping to care for. I've never met someone like her. She makes me want to be a better nurse and a better human. Christina is an excellent communicator and is extremely brilliant, yet she doesn't see herself as better than anyone else and works together as a team to provide care. She is kind and always points out the good in other people, giving them credit for the work they are doing and motivating everyone who knows her to be a better caregiver. 

Christina has saved multiple patients' lives. She had a patient who was suddenly experiencing a lot of abdominal pain, but the nurse and doctors were ignoring it. Christina felt that something was wrong and advocated for her patient by bringing this up to another intensivist who ordered a stat abdominal CT scan, discovering that the patient had a rupturing abdominal aortic aneurism. It can be intimidating to push an issue but Christina gracefully held to her conscience and advocated for her patient's safety, and was able to save the patient's life. I only met Christina at the beginning of the nursing program but I can honestly say she's forever changed my life and made me a better person. Christina sneaks up on you, she's quiet and humble. It's when you see her at work that you realize how extraordinary she is.