While all the nurses my daughter had during her stay on the 9th and 11th floors of the West Tower are firmly in the "Excellent" category, Emily went above and beyond what was required of her to make my daughter feel comfortable and lift her spirit.
My five-year-old daughter was recently diagnosed with B-cell ALL and admitted to Texas Children's. She initially went to the 11th floor then was moved to the 9th when a bed opened up. Until this started she had been a relatively healthy child whose biggest medical issue was one febrile seizure that left no lasting effects when she was 18 months. Taking that into account it's understandable that she was a bit scared to be in the hospital. She also had problems with the IVs (one vein burst, a couple other stopped being able to draw blood, etc.) that lead to her having to be "poked" quite a bit.
It was always a pleasure to have Emily come in (not an easy task in the middle of the night). She performed all of her duties flawlessly but where she really shined was making our daughter as comfortable and happy as possible. From taking the time to explain to us what she was doing in terms my daughter could understand, to engaging her in conversations, Emily was all smiles through it all. She even seemed to enjoy the antics of my daughter's stuffed pig, Norman.
Unfortunately, we only got the pleasure of Emily's service for a couple of nights. On the last night Emily left us something that really took her mother and me by surprise. When I got up I found a hand written, and illustrated, card for my daughter on the counter. When asked about what she wanted to be when she grew up, my daughter would say "Rapunzel and a scientist". Emily took it upon herself to create a fairytale story about our daughter. Her mother and I were moved to tears and my daughter loved it.