Monica was a game changer for my family. My daughter had been in the NICU for a month before she moved to the Epilepsy unit, and I was very nervous about leaving behind the phenomenal care and relationships from Dell's NICU. But from the moment I met Monica, my fears went away; she welcomed us with such warmth and tenderness that we felt at home - a surprising sensation for a hospital.

One day I showed Monica a video that my two toddlers had sent to their baby sister. They hadn't met their sister yet because they were too young to be let into the hospital. The next day, I learned that Monica had made special arrangements for my children to be allowed to meet their sister. My whole family was in the same room for the first time, and it meant everything to me. But more so, Monica brought special teddy bears to the room that had PICC lines and leads (just like baby sister!) and invited my son to help take E's vital signs. It was above and beyond. Nearly a year later, my son still talks about this moment!

Another time, we thought we had a target release date to go home, but found out the day before we left that we actually needed to stay several more weeks. It felt heartbreaking. In passing, I told Monica how excited I'd been for my 6-week-old to have her first breath of fresh air and to feel the sun on her face. Later that day, she figured out how to make that happen for us. A couple days later, during our walk outside, we came back to find that Monica had decorated E's room to make it more homey and inviting for our longer hospital stay. Wall decals, a little sign next to her bed, twinkle lights, rainbows, and flowers. It was beautiful.

And then, right before Halloween, my daughter's PICC line was moved from her belly to her chest, which meant that she could wear clothes for the first time. It was too late for me to order a costume for Dell's trick-or-treat event, but on Halloween morning, Monica came to the room with a present. She had sewn (yes, sewn!) a handmade baby Elvis costume for my chunky newborn with thick dark hair. She was absolutely the talk of the event!

I couldn't believe how well Monica paid attention to my family. She not only listened; she acted. Her posture toward us was so generous, so kind, so desiring to lessen the trauma and increase the joy. She is incredibly deserving of this award, and I can't imagine the difference had she not been there during our stay. Thank you, Monica! My daughter loves you!

It was obvious that Monica wasn't only viewing my daughter as a medical patient but also as a baby who belonged to an entire family. She took into consideration how our unexpected hospital stay was affecting all of us and made decisions that not only aided her physical healing but also aided the emotional healing of our family.

I was so impressed with Monica's ability to listen to all the random things I'd say and then come out with an actionable item of how she could make our hospital stay better. I think this definitely seeped out to the rest of her staff. 

For example, one day I joked with a nurse about how tangled my two-year-old's hair was when she came to visit, and a little while later that nurse came to the room with a bottle of detangler! This generous and attentive environment was constant and always an amazing surprise. I feel like Monica set the tone and then carried it out by the rest of the staff.