We have a patient on the unit waiting for a heart. He has been in the same room on a dopamine drip for more than 100 days. No matter how hard I try, I can't even begin to comprehend the psychological burden this kid is carrying on, no school, no friends, no more than a few minutes of sun and fresh air a day, and not every day.

Today, we moved him to another room for a few hours while we deep-cleaned his room. We do this once a month. After more than 100 days, a kid can accumulate a lot of things in his room. Alyssa helped me move his stuff back and forth when it was time to move him back to his room. G, the patient, could only focus on one thing: "Where is the picture of my Mom?" We could not believe it. There was a picture of his mom on the wall, and it got thrown away. This is where you realize the value of certain things, especially those things that cannot be replaced.

In these situations, you can also tell who is here to do their job and who is here to do whatever it takes to help their patient. Alyssa showed me today why she is the best version of Nursing. Alyssa tracked down the EVS person who cleaned the room, tracked down the trash bags from the room, a room full of trash bags, and found the bag where the photo of G's Mom was thrown.

To give more context, we are getting worried that G's psychological state may be weakened due to the long stay at the hospital. By recovering the photo, I think Alyssa might have prevented a big deterioration in his mental health. Alyssa is the perfect example of what it means to go above and beyond to protect your patient. Today, a kid is happier and healthier because of one awesome nurse named Alyssa Marino.