Our daughter M was born with cerebral palsy. She spent five weeks in the surgical ICU before she passed away at the age of 30. Carrie Campbell was M's nurse in the ICU several times during her stay at OSF. Carrie treated M with compassion and dignity while caring for her. She always explained to M and us everything she was doing when administering medicine. This may seem small, but it helped us understand what was happening with M's care. It also showed us that Carrie was going to treat M appropriately despite her intellectual disability. Carrie's honest explanation of care helped us make the best-informed decision for M.
M struggled with pain the majority of the time while she was in the hospital and Carrie did a fantastic job managing it. When M's pain was not easing, she didn't hesitate to figure out a solution or to call the doctor. Those actions on M's behalf was invaluable to us. This was a terrible time for all of us and watching M suffer was heartbreaking. Carrie continued to explain as much as possible to us. We were running on lack of sleep and I am sure were not always pleasant. Carrie overlooked our distress and treated us with the utmost respect. She showed up empathy, understanding and genuine concern for all of us at one of the most difficult times of our lives. We are thankful for the care that Carrie gave our daughter during her hospitalization.