Our precious 11-week-old son, D, was admitted to the Pediatric Floor with what turned out to be RSV. Overnight when Becky was our nurse, his condition worsened. Speaking as both a worried Mom and as an ICU PA (accustomed to being on the other side of things), that night was the scariest and darkest of my life. I am lucky Becky was standing by our child and our family. It was agonizing to watch our little guy struggle to breathe and deteriorate so quickly. It was terrifying to be the family member standing outside the room, looking in, feeling helpless while the entire team of doctors, nurses, and RTs moved quickly to stabilize our child.

That night remains a blur but filled with images that seem unimaginable to be connected with our son—a code cart outside of his room, RRT documentation on his whiteboard, blood gas, blown IVs, a monitor full of unstable vital signs, a giraffe CPAP, him looking so sick. I truly cannot thank Becky enough for being our nurse that night. She came in to assess D frequently to gauge if his condition was worsening. I could tell she was paying close attention to him, and I trusted her completely. At one point, she noted more accessory muscle use and brought in the charge nurse so they could jointly evaluate him. Some combination of her nurse-intuition alerting her something was wrong, skills and devotion to her patient kept Becky coming back to check on our son repeatedly. When he abruptly changed for the worse, she was already there in our room. She immediately involved the Pediatrician, RT, and RRT team. She then stayed at D’s bedside for the hours that she—and the rest of the team—worked to stabilize him and get him transferred to the PICU at OHSU. I remember standing outside of his room feeling so helpless. I also remember it was Becky who kept checking on me. She helped us pack in the morning as we were preparing to leave for Portland.

I am so grateful to her. Being in the medical field, in particular, gives me an immense and deep appreciation for nurses like her. I know she had other patients. I am sure she was tired herself. She did not “have to” check in on us as often as she did. Her patient, my baby, benefited greatly from her talents as a nurse. Becky helped save his life. I thanked her as D was being whisked off to the PICU in Portland, but it does not feel like enough. I am nominating her for a DAISY Award because I want her to have a DAISY pin to remember how thankful her patients and their families are to receive care from her. I am truly humbled that Becky chose a profession that allowed her to change our lives forever by showing up for her job.