00:00A heartbroken mom was stunned by how her daughter was treated as the toddler fought for her life.
00:05The nurse tried to go unnoticed, but the mother snapped a photo when she wasn't looking.
00:09Unable to stay silent, she shared the image and a message to the staff, letting everyone know what
00:14she saw. Shelby and Jonathan Skiles thought their two-year-old daughter Sophia was just
00:20suffering from allergies when the little girl began not feeling well. Their world was clipped
00:24upside down, however, when Sophie stopped breathing one night. Shelby and Jonathan followed the
00:30ambulance transporting their daughter to the hospital, where they received the news no parent
00:34wants to hear. Doctors discovered a softball-sized mass in little Sophie's chest. Diagnosed with T-cell
00:41lymphoma, the young girl was suddenly in the fight of her life. Sadly, aggressive chemotherapy failed
00:47to stop her cancer from spreading. Instead, the treatments impacted Sophie's ability to walk,
00:52talk, use her hands and eat. Her weakened body needed a stem cell transplant. As Sophie fought
00:58for her life, Shelby spent countless hours by her daughter's side in the hospital, where her only
01:03concern was Sophie and how she was being treated. Sitting on the couch in Sophie's room, Shelby noticed
01:08a nurse try so hard to go unnoticed, but Shelby was watching. After snapping a photo while the nurse's
01:14back was turned, Shelby posted the image on social media. I see you, Shelby wrote as she revealed
01:20everything she witnessed during her daughter's care. I see your face drop a little when she sees you
01:25and cries. You try so many ways to ease her fears and win her over. I see you hesitate to
01:30stick her or
01:31pull band-aids off. You say no always, and I'm sorry more times in one day than most people say,
01:37thank you, Shelby wrote. But, that's not all Shelby saw. Shelby observed nurses carrying armloads of
01:44medicines and supplies into one child's room, while their phones rang from another down the hall.
01:48She saw them, trying so hard, not to make too much noise at night, and stroking little bald heads,
01:54as they tucked covers around ill children, hoping to bring them some warmth and comfort.
01:58Shelby saw them hold crying moms and babies who were all alone. The nurses put aside their own
02:04life for 12 hours, straight to care for very sick and sometimes dying children, going into each room
02:09with a smile no matter what was happening in there, and Shelby wanted them to know, I see you.
02:14She saw them as they came to check on Sophie, even when she wasn't their patient, and she saw them
02:19make as many calls as necessary to get Sophie whatever she needed. You check on me as often
02:24as you check on her. You sit and listen to me ramble for 10 minutes, even though your phone is
02:29buzzing and your to-do list is a mile long, Shelby wrote, recognizing what the staff did for her.
02:35Shelby saw how they tried to make each stay better for everyone. From painting the perfect cartoon
02:40character on the new kid's window, to cheering enthusiastically, for the child taking laps
02:45around the nurse's station and even playing nerf guns, Shelby saw it all. I see you hold tiny hands,
02:51change dirty sheets, translate medical talk for parents, and wipe your eyes coming out of a
02:56particularly hard room. I see you put on gloves, masks, and a gown then pause, before you hang and
03:02run for a bag of poison chemo for my kid, Shelby continued, expressing her gratitude. I see you,
03:08we all see you. No amount of snack baskets or cards can fully express how appreciated you are.
03:14You are Jesus to us every single day. Our children wouldn't get what they need without you.
03:20Moms like me wouldn't feel sane or hurt without you. You saved our babies, and we couldn't do this
03:25without you, she concluded, sighing the post, a mom that sees all you do and loves you dearly for it.
03:31Shelby's heartfelt sentiments touched not only the nurses she wrote the post for,
03:35but also other parents who had similar experiences and also saw that the nurses are the backbone of
03:41the pediatric unit. Their jobs are unimaginably difficult, as they live through the worst times
03:46of any parent's life, over and over again, every day. As healers, helpers, playmates, storytellers,
03:53counselors, and comforters, they touch countless lives, caring not only for their pint-sized patients,
03:59but looking out for their entire family as well. Willingly, they go into a battle most of us pray to
04:04avoid, and they do it day after day for one family after another. When people think of children,
04:10we picture them running, playing, jumping, and giggling. We think of them smiling and healthy.
04:15Is there a worse thought than a dying child or one suffering from cancer? Pediatric nurses step into
04:21that nightmare, hoping to guide little ones and their families through it. They deserve to be seen
04:26for the courageous warriors they are. So, in tribute to nurses everywhere, please know, we see you too.
