Samantha is a former Kosair's Kid Childhood Cancer Survivor. She became a nurse to care for children fighting cancer on the exact same floor that she was on as a teen herself.
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Samantha and my son have bonded like no other and she is a true blessing to him and our family. She never wavered when his symptoms of cancer, and the side effects of his treatment, got bad. I told him "I can't imagine the pain you are in right now", but Samantha told him "I know the pain you are in right now and we will get through this together". That right there can and has made all the difference in the world.
She reminded him nightly of where she had been, where she is now, and that she has felt everything physically, emotionally, and spiritually that he is feeling and through all of this over the next three years he will not be alone.
Samantha told him that she is here for him, she checks on him when she works even if she is not his nurse that night. One morning he woke up briefly while they were checking his vitals after a "rough" night and in his daze he noticed it wasn't Sam, it was another nurse, shift change had occurred. The new nurse was nice but he wanted Sam. She had helped him overcome his deep, deep fear of needles. She helped him through his roughest nights and helped him and educated us on every aspect of this fight we are going through.
My son is ready. He has his hero, his mentor. It's his nurse Samantha Franke!