Evelien Penning-Versteeg was presented as a paediatric nurse at Máxima Medical Center in Veldhoven, where she cares for sick children and supports their parents. She uses conversation, humour and creative approaches to make hospital stays less stressful, including helping children prepare for procedures. One child, Raf, was accompanied to the operating room by Teddy, a specially trained hospital dog.

She said that personal contact with children and families was an important part of her work, while recalling that the death of a girl admitted with meningitis had made a deep impression on her. The work had also made her more confident and willing to stand up for children, parents and herself.