Recently, a terrible car wreck occurred on I-70. Two patients were sent to a different facility, and two patients arrived at WMMC. All patients involved only spoke Spanish. Mandy arrived to the ED when the trauma was paged overhead. One of the patients who arrived was approximately 3 years of age. Mandy was his safe space from the start. This little boy, by the grace of God, was left unscathed from the mangled car that could no longer be recognized. He was terrified.
When I came up to the Med Surg unit and turned that corner to the nurses' station, I saw Mandy there, working on the computer and holding this sweet boy while he was sleeping. This memory will be forever in my heart. It didn't matter that this little boy's world had just been turned upside down. It didn't matter that he couldn't understand English. It didn't matter that his family wasn't around. It didn't matter that he wasn't from here. At that moment he was safe in Mandy's arms and able to get some sleep. Love is a universal language, and that's what I saw when I turned the corner. Mandy didn't leave that little boy's side until almost midnight when she safely buckled him into a car seat.
Nursing isn't easy, and this circumstance wasn't easy for anyone involved. But it was my honor to witness this act of kindness and to know that nursing is worth it. Mandy went above and beyond to ensure this little boy had the smoothest transition possible to his next destination. She is a true DAISY Nurse.