Brianna Mauter
July 2022
Brianna
Mauter
,
RN
SCU
Children's of Alabama
Birmingham
,
AL
United States

 

 

 

I remember many times squeezing her hands harder and harder because I was so scared. She never let go, she stood at my side through the entire scary moment.
I have come across a lot of nurses in my time since birth and she was one of the most exceptional nurses I’ve ever met. Being on SCU you are pretty sick, and things are pretty scary. She made me feel everything was going to be okay.

One night, in particular, I will literally never forget. She had recognized that my mom was not taking care of herself and needed to go home to rest, so she sent my mom home and promised her she would take wonderful care of me. She assured my mom she would call her if anything drastically changed. She made my mom feel comfortable enough to go home and sleep which she hadn’t done in days since admission. We had a pretty big scare that night, one that required CHAT. I remember she stood at the right side of my bed and never let go of my hand. There were tons of people in the room, talking and asking questions. I remember many times squeezing her hands harder and harder because I was so scared. She never let go, she stood at my side through the entire scary moment. When everything had calmed down and I had been treated and was getting ready to go to sleep, she kneeled at my bedside and spoke words over me that I will never forget. She kept repeating them until she knew I believed them and felt comfortable enough to allow myself to sleep. She held my hand until I fell asleep and that night was the first night in over 5 days of admission that I had slept.

Learning that she has only been a nurse for about a year, I was shocked. She had the mannerism of a seasoned veteran in nursing. I was honored to be taken care of by her, and I will never forget my stay at Children’s because of her.

Everyone on SCU is blessed to work alongside her every day, and having such a passion for healthcare myself, I am so comforted to know that other hurting and scared kids will get to have that comfort from her. She deserves this award more than any nurse I’ve ever met and she deserves to know that she was such a comfort in a patient’s life that my family will never forget her name.