We are currently 20 days into our 2nd hospital stay in a year; our 8-month-old daughter had to have a second open-heart surgery. We had a short visit to the ICU before ending up on floor 7 for an extended period of time. Carly has been our nurse for the last 3 nights. If she can help it, she doesn't make a noise or let a machine beep so we can sleep. She is on top of medications, food, bathing, and her overall patient care. She makes sure to ask how I'm doing as a mother and how C is feeling as a patient, and how her day went. My daughter is more than just numbers and words in a chart—Carly sees her as a person.

She has shown this repeatedly by advocating for C when no one else will. My daughter had to have a chest tube placed, and Carly pointed out that the one they used was not typical of an infant and made it very difficult to track output. This put the chest tube on the doctors' radar to ask more questions about how it works and why it was used. This helped to move along C's treatment and make the team talk about removing the tube, as it is very painful for her to continue to have.

When Carly arrives at work, she comes in with a smile and asks you what your plans are. As a night nurse, this is very important because a bedtime routine is essential for a child to thrive inside and outside of the hospital. She is very adaptable if my baby needs to go to bed earlier or a little later, depending on when her meds and other treatments are due.

Carly is truly one of the only reasons I feel safe having my baby at this hospital. Having her as my nurse allows me to be able to take a break—go get a snack, take a walk, or take a shower. I stand at the bedside almost constantly because I am afraid to leave my baby alone, because she won't have the support she deserves, and she has struggled with being absolutely terrified of the staff this time. Not Carly—she makes sure to put in an effort, so my daughter knows she's not there to hurt her or scare her. As a mother, it means so much to me to see my baby smile and not be afraid for just a few moments because, as fate would have it, Carly always seems to end up with us when my daughter has a lot going on medically. And she is able to distract my daughter from her pain and discomfort of her stay. Carly truly is a one-of-a-kind nurse, and each family and kid is lucky to have her on their side. Being able to have Carly twice as our nurse within an 8-month period and to see that we receive the same incredible standard of care was truly amazing.