One can have 10, 30, or 50 years experience as a nurse, but when your child is the patient, all those years of experience are out the door. That was the situation we found ourselves in. We were over 2 hours away from home and facing an uncertain diagnosis when, just one week before, my son had just graduated high school. Kristina was an exemplary nurse. She had a way of comforting an overly anxious nurse mom who was trying to hold it together in front of her 18-year-old. Her care and professionalism were exactly what we needed. To say she went above and beyond would be an understatement. The fact that the “mom” was a nurse didn’t change her care of us. Yes, I say “us” because as a nurse, especially in acute care, she took exemplary care of not only my son- the patient but of the mom as well. Her care was more than the required hourly rounding, assessment, med pass and/or pain management follow up. Her care was genuine and compassionate. That there is not taught through a textbook or a clinical rotation. That there is what truly defines a nurse.