My daughter was seen at the CHW Surgery Center for a procedure. She was very nervous and anxious about everything that was going to happen, and even more so, due to the fact that she recently had sutures placed in UC, and that was NOT a good experience for her, or us.
Nurse Aly called us back and greeted my daughter with genuine kindness and warmth. She started a conversation with my daughter that engaged her and made her feel welcomed and cared for.
Once in the room, Aly spoke directly to my daughter and explained things in a way that she could understand for her age. During this time Aly recognized how anxious my daughter truly was. Aly stopped and genuinely asked my daughter what she was feeling, and how she could personally make her feel better about this whole situation. My daughter was not responding to her and just seemed to get more anxious. It was at that time, that Aly said she would speak to anesthesia about our options, and became an advocate for my daughter's comfort.
Aly returned and said that we could offer a larger dose of medication, to ensure it would work (as it didn't with the sutures), and to calm her. The medication was a liquid med, and my daughter was refusing to take it. She hates liquid meds. Aly realized that this was again causing her more stress and anxiety and she offered to speak with anesthesia again about more options.
Aly came back with 3 options, and we chose to attempt the liquid. Aly was kind enough to speak with anesthesia once again, to ask about a small drink to rinse her mouth, after taking the medication. Aly brought back a small sip of juice, but of course, my daughter wanted water instead! Aly never blinked an eye, or seemed annoyed, and went to get some water. Aly also put the medication into a small med cup as my daughter requested. Aly allowed me to help administer the medication so that my child wasn't feeling forced by others. Aly never made us feel rushed and went at my daughter's pace of accepting.
Aly truly went above and beyond to help make my child feel like she was the only patient she had all day. We could feel that Aly truly cared about the comfort and experience that our daughter was having. She told us a few times that she wanted to ensure that everything went well for our daughter, and wanted to help make sure that this wouldn't be a scary experience that she will remember! As a mom, and a nurse myself, that is what you would expect from every nurse, all the time, but don't always receive. I also know speaking to a provider three times about one medication can be uncomfortable, at times, and I truly appreciated her for that. (The anesthesiologist was great, so hopefully, he wasn't bothered by this) I was so thankful to have Nurse Aly for my daughter, as I myself, was nervous with how she would do after a recent painful experience with suture placement. Aly showed, in every possible way she could, that she would help make this a great experience for all of us!
Aly was genuine, kind, and compassionate. We felt and overall warmth of caring from her.
Aly's shift ended prior to our daughter coming out of recovery, as I believe that she had a meeting to attend, so we were assigned another nurse. Aly's meeting ended a few minutes early, so instead of heading out, she stopped by to peek in and check on my daughter, before heading out! Again, this showed us how much she truly cared about our daughter and her experience. Aly was a fabulous nurse that helped make our experience a great one for our daughter. I am so grateful that she was here to help! Thank you, Aly!