This nurse on 4 South has gone above and beyond this summer for two of our patients. The first patient is J. J was on 4 South that stayed with us for almost two months, including back-and-forth stays in the PICU. His recovery was a long, painful process and even for the staff that joined him in his up and down journey. This nurse realized two big milestones were approaching for J-his 18th birthday and his high school graduation. She knew she wanted to plan something extra special, especially since he'd have to miss his graduation ceremony. This nurse could see J's disappointment in missing these big events so she sought out our social worker, child life specialist and J's attending physician to see what she could do and plan something special for him. The team surprised J with a gathering in the Scottish Rite Auditorium. They celebrated with snacks and desserts, and many people stopped by to drop off encouraging handwritten notes. In the final moments of the celebration, J's surgeon presented him with his high school diploma. The smiles and hugs J gave were nothing short of amazing, all because of the compassion of his care team, especially this nurse who spent so many care hours with him.

This story was recently mentioned on Careforce. The second mention is for a patient we had with Halo traction. This patient in particular didn't always enjoy being stuck to a wheelchair, walker or even his bed while he had to support hanging weights from his head traction 24 hours a day. This goes on for 4-5 weeks while he stays with us inpatient. He wanted to be like the other kids he saw being pulled in a wagon. So what did this nurse do? She manipulated a wagon to support traction and built a one-of-a-kind wagon traction that allowed him to sit up and play while being moved around the hospital. If we only could have recorded his smile the first time he climbed in. To say he was happy was an understatement.

All of this is because this nurse goes the extra mile to make her patients have the best experience while they are here, being supportive and compassionate, and not letting milestones pass them by.