Marquina was an observant, thoughtful, and joyful nurse for our son during our unexpected PICU stay. Immediately, she approached our son with care, speaking directly to him, describing what she was doing and what she was going to do. Even though he didn't understand her words, the way she engaged him and approached him more slowly and deliberately allowed him to be calmer and more curious during her examinations. She let him hold and examine her stethoscope and pen light, talking with him about them, so he was more relaxed and compliant when she checked his pupil reactivity, etc.

Marquina made a huge difference in our son's care because she noticed something when she first changed his diaper. She noticed that when he peed during the change, he seemed to be in a lot of pain, so she examined his penis and foreskin, because he's uncircumcised, and found that he had some small tears in his foreskin, presumably from prior catheterizations he had during his stay. She immediately came up with a plan to manage the pain. She applied Aquaphor as a barrier and suggested starting some oral ibuprofen, and brought it up with the medical team, who then prescribed some antibiotic ointment.

Prior to this, he had been intermittently retaining urine, and no one really understood why, but Marquina made the connection right away that this pain from the urine coming in contact with the tears in his foreskin could have been causing him to avoid peeing. Staying on top of this pain management is a big component of his recovery.

Marquina was easy to talk to and checked in with us frequently throughout the day, helping us better understand how things would change when we were transferred to the regular peds floor, and giving us tips about the building and meals that they have at the Ronald McDonald House, which we took advantage of for lunch that day. She was our son’s favorite during our stay in the PICU, and she made critical observations that changed the direction of his care.

This is Marquinna's second DAISY Award!