One thing I truly admire about Dan is how humble she is. She is very knowledgeable and has some great experience from another hospital that I feel like we have benefited from greatly, but she has no problem calling and asking questions to clarify or learn. She also tends to think out of the box and problem-solve, but is always open to critique and ultimately wants to do what’s best for our son. Dan also has no problem jumping in and helping others on the pod with whatever they might need. She’s always the first to go check and make sure everyone is good and not in need of extra hands. They don’t come any better than Dan!

Dan has been one of our son's primary nurses ever since we got to Primary Children’s, and you could tell after spending one shift with her, that’s someone we want on our team! The way she cares for him day in and day out, with such detail and love, is something I truly admire her for and am beyond grateful for. My heart rests easy knowing that Dan is on and caring for our sweet boy. Dan is so proactive with her care and so detail-oriented that she doesn’t miss a thing.

She knows to preemptively turn his Fio2 up, she knows that warm blankets make the bath go better, always so thorough with diaper cream to prevent any breakdown or rash, she knows what he likes and what we don’t like and plays to those strengths in keeping him calm and comfortable with the tasks of the day. She keeps him from spiralling into panic mode, trying to breathe by pulling air off his tummy or comforting him with warm packs.

She genuinely loves and cares for our son, and you can tell he can feel that towards himself. There have been many times when he was having some really hard moments, upset and not breathing well. He’s a big boy, and Dan had no problem holding him and bouncing him upright when that was the only thing that seemed to help. She always does the right thing, even if that means it’s more work or takes longer.

Dan has always been so mindful of our son and tries to allow him to have experiences to break up the mundanity of the day-to-day. If he’s awake in the morning, she gets him all bathed and fresh and out of bed. Putting him on the floor mat or in his tumblform chair. Playing with him, getting him new toys and listening to stories. She could very well keep him in bed and head out to the desk to read a book, but she takes the time to go the extra mile and do the little things that, in my mind, make the biggest difference.

If she isn’t in the room, she always pays close attention to his monitor and is always so timely if she sees his sats dropping at all. Because she is so proactive, he doesn’t end up having to work as hard which ultimately makes the day go much better because he isn’t continually having to work as hard or as long to breathe.