My father spent the last 5 days of his life in the Hospital at UW. Michelle was my dad's nurse in the TLC ICU unit for the first few days before he was transferred to Palliative Care. My father was very ill and she not only demonstrated excellent and competent nursing skills but she showed my father respect. Her kindness, caring and support to us in the family will always be remembered and appreciated. Michelle truly went above and beyond. Thanks to Michelle, Dad got to see his beloved dog Leyla one last time before he passed. Being witness to that moment will forever be comforting to us in the family. In addition, we strongly believe that it comforted my dad and that it has helped Leyla understand why he is no longer with us. Michelle also took the extra steps to help create lasting memories of Dad. The teddy bears with dad's heartbeat have been very comforting to his grandchildren and those teddy bears will be very loved throughout the coming years. His fingerprint hearts and hand mold will be helpful visuals of dad when we feel lost and need to see him. These are examples of things that Michelle didn't have to do while caring for my dad, but she did out of compassion and kindness. Words cannot express how much we appreciate everything big and small she did for Dad and our family. UW Hospital is incredibly lucky to have such a talented, competent, kind and compassionate nurse on staff. My dad would have called her "a gem" and that is an understatement. She was incredible, and we will forever be grateful to her.