My son arrived at Sacred Heart Hospital ICU with severe head trauma which he was not going to recover from. The goal was organ donation. Dawn was one of the first nurses on his ICU care team and was with us during the entire journey until he was able to save five people with his gifts. She was one of many on the team that helped make this happen.

My nomination is not just for her skill as a nurse which was very evident from observing her and my knowledge from having worked as a hospital social worker for many years. What made this devastating event bearable was her extreme compassion as a person. The only reason I was able to leave the hospital and care for myself was because of the trust I had in her care for my son. She would say, “I’m going to see how sweet you are,” when checking his blood sugars. Her care and kindness was overwhelming. She even made sure she was working with him on his final night. She held my hand during the honor walk and during the donor flag raising. I do not know how I would have endured this tragedy without her. In my heart, she will always be his hospital mom and part of our family.

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Our Father recently was admitted to the 2nd floor CCU where he later passed away. Dawn’s compassion and kindness made our family feel at peace during this very difficult and emotional time. Dawn continued to stop in and check on our father regularly. Dawn would answer all of our questions and ask if there was anything she could get for us. Dawn would take the time to explain everything that was going on and what they were doing to make our dad comfortable. Dawn would also talk to our father and treat him with the utmost dignity.

We would like to thank you for your dedication to our father and all the other patients and families you have helped during your career. We were truly blessed that you were part of our father's care team at the end of his life.