My daughter came into the ICU. My daughter has been hospitalized many times from her condition, so I have had experiences doing this more than I care to say. I have some medical knowledge. I have worked for multiple physicians in the field and dropped out of nursing school to care for my daughter.
I have to say the several days that I had Christine as our nurse, I never felt more relaxed (considering the circumstances). She was personable, informative, and most of all, caring. I felt like she really treated my daughter as if she were her own child. She constantly was talking to my daughter, even though she was in a comatose state for a portion of the time, explaining what she was doing to her and how it would feel. Christine would get help when necessary, and would comfort me by explaining what was going on. I felt less helpless when Christine would ask me if I wanted to help with certain tasks, which I enjoyed. She also explained the beeping machines in laymen's terms, describing what is "normal" and what is not so that I did not panic every time I heard a sound.
One thing that most nurses have not done, that is extremely appreciated by my family and me, is that she introduced me to different staff when a shift change would occur. If she would be gone for a lunch, she would inform me who was going to be helping out so that I knew who to go to.
My daughter is 6 years old, and we've been dealing with medical issues since she was 7 months. I have never had a nurse more compassionate, informative, sincere, or genuine as Christine. She met all the "requirements" that qualify her for this nomination. Even earlier today I saw Christine down the hall and she asked me how my daughter was doing, despite the fact she wasn't on her caseload. I was shocked she even remembered my name and my daughter's name from some time ago. I have already expressed my gratitude towards her to the charge nurses and herself. I hope that more nurses are inspired to be more like her.