My daughter had suffered a burn on the bottom of her foot, and we arrived at the ED scared. She was in pain. Being that she was only 2, she didn’t understand what exactly was happening or why her foot hurt so badly. FHN’s ER had us back in the triage room in less than 5 minutes. Doug Munda was our triage nurse. Right away, he pulled out a stuffed animal from his pocket and asked my two-year-old to watch over the stuffed animal. She immediately stopped crying and agreed to watch over the stuffed animal.

Doug proceeded to assess her in the most calming way. He made sure she understood exactly what he was going to do to assess her and make her foot better. My daughter instantly formed a bond with Doug and was comforted by his gentle demeanor. She did not receive any pain medications, as Doug made sure she had a warm blanket, the Disney channel on the TV, and the stuffed animal next to her. After the Doctor came in, we learned that we needed to go to the burn unit at OSF. Doug made sure that he greeted us at the door as we were leaving to give my daughter a hug, assured her she was going to be okay, and to keep watching over her stuffed animal for him. The stuffed animal has not left her side since, and she tells everyone that Doug gave her the animal and helped her foot. We thank Doug for being so gentle and caring for our little girl!