I have tried to write this nomination multiple times and can't seem to find the right words to accurately express how much Mackenzie meant to us through our recent weeklong admission with our 6-month-old baby. From the moment we arrived from the ER to the floor, she met us with the brightest smile, a calm and confident demeanor, and the biggest dose of compassion I have ever received. She cared for our very sick baby boy with incredible attention to detail and advocated hard for him/us with all the specialists in his care. She helped problem-solve. She snuggled him when I couldn't. She translated the medical jargon and spoke up when something didn't make sense. She LISTENED to us - both from a medical perspective and from a scared parent perspective. She used her clinical judgment multiple times - to get labs when it made sense, to call for the VAT team when others had poked him too many times, to ask the MD how we could change up med admin times to help him sleep more, to advocate for an MRI. Even when other RNs were his primary, she popped in to check on us and let us know she was just outside for anything we needed. She picked up extra shifts at a time the unit was short-staffed so that our kiddo (and others) received excellent care. She even offered to wash my sweatshirt when baby's diaper leaked all over it (it was all I had with me since we didn't expect an admission) and brought it back warm/dry/folded. I still tear up thinking about how much she positively influenced one of the scariest weeks of my life. I will forever be grateful she was the nurse assigned to us that day, and my memories of this admission are positive only because of the care SHE provided. She's the reason I survived our baby's admission without a full mental breakdown AND the reason we got to bring baby home. I can think of no one more worthy of this honor. Mackenzie is a true gem and an incredible asset to the North Peds/PICU team. She deserves this award!