Our son was involved in a higher speed head on auto accident. He was flight lifted from the scene to Children’s Hospital Colorado. The first few days were a blur of Doctors and Nurses and all their support staff. Melanie was the first nurse to ask to be one of our son's primary nurses. She was very caring and compassionate not only for our son, but also in making sure that K and I were taking care of ourselves and making sure we knew what was happening and why. She was always advocating for our son and for us.

On one occasion, the doctors were discussing extubation for our son, but were hesitant and Nurse Mel spoke up stating that she felt like that day was the best day for it to happen. They followed her recommendation and the tube came out successfully. On another occasion the Doctor had scheduled our son for surgery to have a G-tube put in. Nurse Mel advocated for K and I, asking if the surgery team had discussed this with us the parents, in which they had not. She asked them to postpone the surgery until they had given us all the information to make an informed decision on the procedure.

Our son has since been moved off the PICU floor, but on days Nurse Melanie has been working or near the hospital, she has stopped by our son's room to check on his status and to make sure K and I are still getting all the support we need. She has truly went above and beyond for our family. She will forever hold a special spot in our hearts, and she will always be created into our family with open arms.