My daughter is 14 and had a breast infection, and this was her very first time to ever be hospitalized or to ever have IVs inserted inside of her arm. By the time we made it to our room on the seventh floor of the Abercrombie building, she was exhausted. Her anxiety was extremely high. She was tired, running on no sleep and was terrified of the situation she was dealing with of her breast after loosing her aunt to stage four breast cancer.Upon entering our room on the seventh floor, that's when we met Miss Shirley Hines, my daughter's very first nurse, who was here at Texas Children's Hospital. Upon meeting Miss Shirley when she came into my daughter's room, her face just lit up the entire room. The way she presented herself and carried herself with such gentleness and kindness, and she had a carefree, childlike spirit. The very first thing she said to my daughter was she let her know, "Hey, I'm here, and I work for you. You are my boss, as long as you are a patient here, you tell me what to do." That instantly made my daughter smile and put her heart at ease. Miss Shirley never forgot anything my daughter asked for. After she got off her shift, my daughter would ask me where the nurse she first met was. Where is Miss Shirley? I had to explain to her that the nurses were switching shifts and that we may not get her back as a nurse. It made her kind of disappointed at first. When Miss Shirley would come into our room, she would always do something fun or something goofy to make my daughter laugh when she would be bawling her eyes out, crying from depression, or nervous about the surgery. She even did a toe touch at one point, which made my daughter die laughing. Also, while having Miss Shirley as our nurse, there was an instance where my daughter's IV line was really starting to bother her. Miss Shirley assured her over and over that if she was not satisfied with her IV line, she would make it her top priority to find someone to insert another line into her, she even expressed to my daughter how they had a really cool machine that was like a x-ray machine, but was a machine to strictly see the veins and how she wouldnt have to worry about anyone missing a vein or not being able to get one, because that was an issue we experienced from the hospital we came from, even being down in the emergency room department here at Texas childrens. Miss Shirley went out of her way and made sure that the people came up with the machine to read my daughter's veins and made them take out the other IV line that was causing her discomfort, and she made it a top priority. My daughter didn't have to wait for any time to have that IV line removed from her arm that was giving her discomfort. After my daughter experienced a few other nurses after Miss Shirley, she told me she just wanted her back in her room. After my daughter came out of surgery, she was highly depressed, and she would ask for Miss Shirley again. Miss Shirley has this personality when she comes into the room; it's nothing but joyfulness and playfulness. Here it is, the day of surgery, and my daughter comes out of surgery late at night, and I go downstairs for just a few moments. As I'm making my way through the hallways to get back on the elevator to come back up, I run into Miss Shirley. I got to tell her all about my daughter's procedure, and she didn't even forget who I was! I told her, like, "My daughter misses you so much." She says you were the best nurse she got to experience, especially since it is her first time ever having to be hospitalized or have something major happen to her. She really made a difference in my daughter's life and stay here at the hospital. I was telling Miss Shirley that my daughter was gonna be so upset that she didn't get to see her, but I just ran into her in the hallway. Miss Shirley was just getting off work and getting ready to head home, and she stopped everything she was doing and said, " No, I'm gonna go back up there with you, and I'm gonna go say goodbye, especially if y'all are getting discharged tomorrow." She made a point to follow me back upstairs, even though she was already off work for the night, to come into my daughter's room to tell her one final goodbye and to make her laugh one last time, and of course, she did the famous toe touch, which had my daughter dying laughing. My daughter was so happy to see Miss Shirley for one last time. She made sure to get a picture with her, so she could show everyone back home the amazing nurse who made a big difference during her stay here. Having a nurse like Miss Shirley means you have someone who will definitely get on a child's level and will definitely do something out of the ordinary that your average nurse, whether it be a toe touch, a goofy laugh, or letting a child know that they are in charge of her. A prime example of what a parent expects out of a nurse at a children's hospital, Miss Shirley far exceeds all those expectations and then some. So thank you, Miss Shirley, for being just what my daughter needed during the most traumatic experience she has ever faced. You were the difference!

This is Shirley's second DAISY Award!