Christine changed our entire inpatient experience and set high expectations for the staff we would soon be working with. My daughter came into the EC one Thursday evening in April and was sent home. In terrible pain, we came back Friday and were admitted late Friday or early Saturday morning for an infection that could have become extremely dangerous.

Christine was our nurse our first full evening inpatient when my daughter was in excruciating pain and terrified. She immediately picked up a little stuffed animal in my daughter’s room and began a conversation about the little Star Wars toy, immediately promising that she would wear her Grogu hat the next night. I instantly feared she would forget and my daughter would remember, causing distrust, but the more I got to know Christine during her shift, it was apparent she would never forget a promise to a patient. In addition to her pain, my daughter also hadn’t been able to eat since her arrival to the EC, waiting to learn if she would need surgery. After well over 24 hours, my daughter was so thirsty she was licking the tears off her face, begging for hydration and food. Christine saw her discomfort and went to my child’s doctors to fight for my daughter to have a meal and some water. After a day of MRIs, and uncomfortable trips to the bathroom with an infected knee, being able to drink water and eat a snack or two was a game changer for my daughter. Hydrated and feeling safe from Christine’s care and advocacy, she was able to sleep and was prepped and ready when her surgery was bumped up earlier than planned the next morning.

After my daughter’s surgery, Christine returned wearing her Grogu hat, just as promised, a reminder that my daughter was seen, heard, and cared for. After an early life in foster care with not-so-dependable adults, this small detail was huge. Christine’s kindness and on-top-of-it care were already incredible, but her creative problem-solving blew us away.

My daughter is on the autism spectrum and a survivor of much trauma. As such, she has many sensory needs, and being hospitalized only exacerbated some of her behaviors and needs. When her sensory needs began posing a threat to her health by potentially introducing more bacteria to her system (i.e. picking at her lips), Christine once again saved the day. Outside of my daughter’s room, she proposed an unorthodox idea for a 10-year-old: a pacifier. She prefaced that it was okay if I didn’t want to try it, but explained the benefits she thought it could have and I was instantly on board. A few moments later, Christine emerged with a purple pacifier (my daughter’s favorite color, of course.), and introduced the idea to my daughter. She had surgery earlier in the day and was having trouble winding down from a stimulating, painful, and exhausting day but instantly popped the pacifier in her mouth and began picking at it instead of her lips. Moments later she was asleep and resting up to heal.

In two evenings of watching her work, it was clear that Christine is a leader amongst staff by the way she interacted with other staff and the way they received her advice in working with my daughter. It was clear others could see her magic, knowledge, and leadership, but she was constantly acknowledging the techs and nurses working around her.

Christine anticipates needs and makes not only the child but the entire family, feel seen, heard, and comforted. Simply put, when we learned Christine would not be with us for our third evening, we felt anxious because she had become such a huge part of our team, and we knew it would be difficult for others to fill the imprint she left with us. Every child deserves an advocate like Christine and every parent should be so lucky to be able to entrust her with their child.