Our son spent 15 days in the ICU and the majority of those days on a ventilator. Although the entire staff was exceptional with his care and performed with compassion daily, one incident stands out in my mind. Elle was his nurse for the day, and on the second attempt to remove his ventilator tube and he had a terrible reaction to the removal and was vomiting continuously. The room instantly became an all-hands-on-deck to prevent any further aspiration, and Elle continued to hold his head in a position to aid everyone in reestablishing the ventilator tube and stabilizing our son.

The doctor requested an X-ray to verify the placement of the devices and the status of his lungs. He requested all attendees to vacate the room for the X-ray process, but Elle would not leave her patient and continued to hold our son’s head stable and in the upright position. Ultimately, the doctor realized Elle would not abandon her patient, and they placed the X-ray blanket protector on her so the techs could do their work. I cannot stress how impressive it was to witness the dedication and compassion of the nurse to the patient. Forever grateful to the entire ICU staff for the entire stay of our son.

Note: This is Elle's 2nd DAISY Award!