I received a call that is any parent’s worst fear.  My daughter B was hospitalized with head trauma and other injuries.  I live in Georgia, and my daughter lives in Ft. Lauderdale. The ICU nurse Haley who was caring for her walked me through what she knew about the accident and my daughter's injuries.  She provided me with all this information in the most compassionate way. I arrived the next day and Haley was again my daughter’s nurse.  She was attentive to her every need medically and beyond. She leaned close to B and spoke in the most caring voice, constantly reassuring her and explaining to her what was happening and why. Haley’s expressions, manner, voice, and words were soothing and reassuring to B, who was so distressed that she didn’t know why she was there or why she was restrained.  I truly feel Haley was my daughter’s advocate throughout her stay.

When a man claiming to be B's husband called, Haley was wary, and sure enough, it was not. 

When I first arrived to see B she was very agitated and restrained, Haley was very caring when she told me how important it was for B to remain calm and why she was restrained.  She was able to release one of the restraints so B could write down her questions which seemed to help B.

Haley advocated to have the ventilator removed at the earliest appropriate time. I and my family firmly believe that B’s recovery was aided in every way by the extraordinary care that she received from this wonderful nurse. 

My daughter will want to reach out to Haley at some point; she doesn’t remember her days in the ICU and was sleeping when Haley came to visit her in the step-down unit.  We will forever be grateful.

We suspect that when Haley is working a twelve-hour night shift in the ICU, she wears a sweater not only to ward off the chill but to hide her wings.