It’s not often that we go to Children’s Medical Center for a reason other than illness, usually James’ illness. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever been there for any other reason until a few days ago.

A few months back James was very sick. He spent five weeks in Children’s Medical Center. One day shy of three weeks were spent in ICU. Throughout his entire hospital stay I was so impressed with the care he received, but there was something special about the care in ICU.

James was transferred from the floor to ICU on a Friday afternoon. In the ICU we were met by a nurse who, over the next few weeks, would become like family to us. Nicole was amazing. She was exactly the person we needed throughout James’ hospital stay. She cried with us and laughed with us, was an advocate for James with his doctors and therapists, and was always looking out for what was best for him.

Most importantly, Nicole took amazing care of James. I remember watching her so many times as she held James’ hand, stroked his head, and talked to him even while he was completely sedated. She was always so sweet to him, treating James like he was her own little boy.

Over the course of James’ five week stay, we noticed pamphlets for The Daisy Award. The Daisy Award is a nurse recognition program, created in memory of Patrick Barnes, “to honor the super-human work nurses do for patients and families every day.” We could think of no one more deserving of this award than Nicole, so we wrote a letter to nominate her, and shared all of the wonderful ways she supported us throughout James’ hospital stay.

Last week I received an email from someone at Children’s, letting us know that Nicole was selected to receive The Daisy Award, and they wanted to surprise her by having us attend the ceremony and reception. We were so excited to see her again, and for her to finally see James as a healthy little boy. Unfortunately he caught a virus and wasn’t able to go (Huge thanks to my mom for staying home with James, I know she wanted to be there as well!), but Andy and I were able to attend, see Nicole again, and meet her awesome mom and husband.

It was a very heart-warming experience to be there and hear how the four nurses honored that day have had such an incredible impact on families and staff at Children’s. Thank you Nicole, and all the staff at Children’s for putting your heart into the amazing work you do. So thankful to have the best of the best right here in Dallas!