Our son has autism, and we were so nervous going through this process of being in the hospital and the challenges he might face. Our son was scared, anxious, and not communicating with most of the staff, and most times was having me, his mom, talk for him. Except when Alex was around. My son was shy towards Alex at first, like he is with everyone he encounters, but Alex took the time to keep listening to my son and keep trying to understand things from my son’s point of view. Even something as little as bending down to be at my son’s level instead of standing over him and talking to him really goes a long way for someone like my son. He responds well to that kind of special attention, and Alex was the only one who gave that to him. Alex really took the time to explain things to my son and would tell him that he would never do something to him before telling him what he was doing first. My son quickly took a liking to Alex and was sad on the Friday he was in the hospital, and Alex wasn’t there. Alex really listened and found out some things my son liked and that were motivating for him, and made sure things like seeing K, painting, and playing Mario were available for my son as he completed tasks needed by the doctors in helping with his recovery. Alex was so patient, kind, compassionate, and understanding not only towards my son but to us, his parents as well. It eased so much of our stress and anxiety having Alex around to answer any and all of our many questions and to see his level of caring towards our son. Even though we missed being at home with our other two children and sleeping in our own beds, Alex is the reason our experience at American Family Children’s Hospital felt like we never left home at all. Thank you, Alex, for all that you did for our family, but especially our son. You hold a very special place in his heart.