My 4-year-old daughter has high-risk B-ALL and has a central line (port in her chest) that needs to be accessed weekly. She was terrified to have it done every week, until she met Catherine, with her gentle, understanding, and confident presence. She doesn't rush my daughter, she talks to her, tells stories, and makes her feel comfortable. She takes time to have a relationship with her. 

There have been MANY positive experiences with her care, but I will recount the first one. My daughter curled up in a ball and was refusing to let any of the nurses come near her. When they did, she would scream a blood-curdling scream and cry and kick. All the other nurses left except for Catherine. She stayed in silence and then finally spoke gently and calmed my daughter down. She approached her and had my daughter join her in her own care. They worked together as a team that day and took some of the fear away from getting accessed each week. 

Accessing her port is the most stressful part of the cancer treatment for her. We eventually were able to move away from having just Catherine do it, but without the care and love from her, we could have never overcome it and trusted the other nurses. 

She is an exceptional pediatric nurse, and I hope she is recognized for her excellence in caring for these beautiful children who are suffering.