My son was admitted to the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at Maine Medical Center in Portland after being diagnosed with RSV. Ten days after we were admitted and several rounds of antibiotics, he wasn’t improving. With more testing, we learned that his right kidney was badly infected, and he had a 1.22cm kidney stone blocking urine from passing down to the bladder, something that is rare for a 2-year-old.

It quickly became clear that our admission would be longer than we anticipated. A few days later, we celebrated our son's second birthday at BBCH. Madison was the nurse on the day shift. We had met her a few times before and quickly developed a rapport. She was kind and caring not only to him, but to our whole family. On his birthday, Madison came into our room and, after doing routine vitals and administering medication, stayed to chat.

I shared with her his birth story; he arrived at 32 weeks and was admitted to the NICU just a few floors below, where we were now. He was diagnosed with a severe brain injury two weeks after his birth and has subsequently received several more diagnoses, including cerebral palsy and epilepsy. He was in the NICU for 33 days, and we’ve spent countless hours since then meeting with specialists, doing testing, rushing to the ER, riding in ambulances, and so much more. Madison listened with great compassion as I shared the difficulty of being back in the same hospital where my son spent his first month of life, once again facing many unknowns.

She comforted me as I cried and helped me process my grief. It was the first time since our admission that I could speak plainly about everything we had experienced. Madison offered a sense of ease that I can still feel to this day. In the weeks that followed, she remained one of my son's primary care team members. Seeing Madison’s name on our board brought us such joy; I remember texting my husband each morning when she was scheduled to say, “Madison’s our nurse today – woohoo!” Seconds later, a heart emoji would appear on the screen.

After three long months at BBCH, our family got to know Madison well. We have countless examples of how Madison went above and beyond in her care for our son. She advocated for him when he became overwhelmed with many people coming into his room daily. She put a sign on the door when he was napping, knowing how important sleep was for us all. She learned how to care for a nephrostomy tube – something rarely seen in pediatric patients – and taught us how to manage it ourselves.

She was incredibly patient with him, always keeping in mind his visual impairment and developmental delay; she never approached him until she offered a warm greeting and explained what she would be doing first. She listened to us when we had questions after we met with providers to discuss complex medical information and sought answers when we needed more guidance. She sought ways to make our family more comfortable in the hospital and explained systems and roles. She comforted us when it all felt like too much.

Madison was exactly who we needed during one of our hardest times. We’ll forever be grateful to Madison and the team at BBCH for providing the best care for our sweet boy.