My daughter was born with a rare genetic condition. We are, as I call, “frequent flyers” on all levels at American Family Children’s Hospital but have made a home in the PICU a few times in her short eight months of life. My daughter has low vision quality and is also very hard of hearing or considered deaf. Not many nurses really took the time to read her full history or know these details about her.

Lauren was appointed her primary nurse, and it surprised me she remembered my name, my dad’s name, and my sister’s name. She always asked us how we all were feeling and made sure all of our needs were met. She even stopped by to say hello, even if she wasn’t assigned to our daughter during her shift. Our daughter is often treated with her disability pushed aside, but Lauren always made sure she had some type of crib entertainment like lights to look at (and within a reasonable distance), used very soft touches, and didn’t move her too quickly as our daughter startled very easily with these movements. Lauren always spoke to our daughter the entire time she was caring for her. Even though our daughter may not have always heard her, it made my heart smile. I wasn’t able to be there all the time due to caring for our 4-year-old daughter full time at home, but I knew when Lauren was taking care of her, she wasn’t just another patient. She was being cared for with the most respect and love. I feel Lauren really advocated for all of their daughter’s needs, no matter how simple or complicated, in our almost one-month stay. We were lucky to have Lauren as our primary nurse, and we will be back in the PICU (like I said, frequent flyers). I hope we always have the pleasure of working with Lauren!