We were visiting family in Florida while at my husband's cousin's birthday party. We had put our 2.5-year-old son in a puddle jumper while we watched him and the other kids play in the pool together. We got out of the pool, ate dinner, were changing both of our sons' diapers and changing them into their pajamas, when somewhere in that process, our 2.5 year old, V, made his way back to the water without us. In a matter of minutes, we found him in the pool unresponsive. We pulled him out, my mom performed CPR, and we called 911. I distinctly remember grabbing his shoes so he had something to wear when we left the hospital. The medical staff at a smaller hospital in Sanford, FL, called his death after working on him for about an hour. It was then that we were allowed to run our fingers through his hair, sing to him, and rub him. It was in this moment that his heart miraculously started beating again.

We were transferred to the Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando. Two days later, our baby was classified as brain dead, and we made the tough decision to donate his organs. Through this process, Heather was incredible. In the most vulnerable and trying time in our lives, she provided us comfort. She informed us of our rights when donating his organs and truly advocated for us. She helped us put parameters around how long we would allow the search for matches to take place. We needed him to go to surgery for the organ donations because we needed him to be at rest-- to be at peace. She knew we felt that way and helped us put boundaries in place to protect what we needed in that moment. She helped us say, "Yes, he will donate, but we can only allow 72 hours to find the matches." During this time, he donated his heart, liver, kidneys, and lungs to research.

Heather not only stayed with us during the hardest days of our lives, but she also stayed late and asked her manager to come in outside of her scheduled hours in order to be with us during his hero walk. It was incredibly comforting to have her by our side as we walked our baby to surgery, to save the lives of 3 other people. She helped us put together a collage of videos of our baby singing "You are my sunshine", as we walked him to surgery on his hero walk. At a time when we couldn't bear to look through videos and photos, she did it on our behalf by working together with our family.

Heather also helped us process the death of our 2.5-year-old and the learnings that she learned, that we didn't know. For example, we learned through her what ISR lessons were, the dangers of using floatation devices in pools, and other parents who have lost their children to drowning. While we will never be healed, it is through these learnings that have allowed us to move forward in a way that is productive. Heather told me about a mom who has spoken out about toddler drownings. I reached out to her while in the hospital as a means to connect and find some sort of understanding. This mom has been instrumental in my ability to wake up each day to care for V's little brother.

I am so grateful for the comfort Heather provided us, the vulnerability we were able to express, and that she made us feel comfortable to express. Heather is a true angel on Earth who has found her calling. She is with families in their hardest of times and is incredibly deserving of this award, although I know she doesn't do it for the recognition. She does it as a work of heart, and for that, we will forever be grateful for the heart she shared with us, as ours were completely shattered.