March 2009
Bobbiejean
Kosnarsky
,
RN
PICU
UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh
,
PA
United States

 

 

 

MB is a 5 yo developmentally delayed girl with mitochondrial disease who has "lived" in the PICU for the past 7 months on two life-supporting medications to support her blood pressure. MB is not the typical PICU patient, she is awake, alert and active. Mom is very open to all of leadership about her lack of trust as well as the amount of stress she has when she must leave MB alone to go home to care for her other 3 children. Bobbiejean has a good rapport with MB's mom and mom states she is calmed and comforted when Bobbiejean is caring for MB. During the week before Christmas, Bobbiejean brought her camera in to take photos of MB in her Christmas outfit. To make the "photo shoot" more successful and appropriate, Bobbiejean covered the monitors with a sheet to act as a backdrop and placed a miniature Christmas tree on a bedside table for MB to use as a prop. This act of kindness was extremely special to MB's mother as she knows this may be MB's last Christmas as her disease is progressing. Bobbiejean went out of her way to make this a special time and give mom an excellent memory.