Elena Fancy, RN

My son was a patient at University Hospital. He was transported by ambulance from the clinic for sepsis. He had strep throat that wasn’t going away with antibiotics from several days prior. He was stabilized in the ER, and I was told he would be kept for observation.

He was moved to another floor. Blood work after blood work. Nurse after nurse. Eventually, he was moved to the ICU, Sky Tower, 9th floor. Elena was his nurse on the first day. I remember she had a badge that said Charge Nurse as well.

I had been keeping notes on my phone of everything doctors and nurses said, whenever I remembered to do it, because there was so much information to recall. I even made a note saying, “Nurse has been in several times doing great!” This was about RN Elena.

My son could not speak from the infection in his throat and the pain it caused him. I spoke for him every chance I had. Even though it was apparent I was his voice, literally. Every day seemed like no one really knew anything, or maybe they couldn’t share.

Elena was all over every lab requested and questioned anyone who tried to do any test to assure that it was necessary, as my son’s blood was very difficult to draw by this point. Elena kept me informed on what she knew and made sure to make me feel informed on what was going on as often as she could.

Elena untangled all his IVs. Carefully labeled each one (nothing I had seen anyone else do). Everyone else kind of followed lines to see what line led to what bag and what IV.

At one point, Elena was going to be moved to another room. I hurt on the inside. She came back shortly after and told me she was going to stay with my son after all. The joy and comfort it brought to me. It was the first time in my son’s entire stay that I felt he was very well cared for. I felt safe to leave the room knowing he was in good hands.

I felt like, finally, we had a nurse acting like a momma bear, knowing that nothing would get past Elena. She treated my son like a person and with so much care.

Unfortunately, my son was on life support late that night, and by the next day there was nothing else doctors could do. I asked for Elena that morning, but she was off. I wanted to hear from her as well on my son’s condition and wished she could have been there till the end because I had so much trust in her and it would have made me be certain that doctors did in fact do all they could.

As best as I understood what happened, my son had HSV, which compromised his immune system, leading to acute liver failure, and due to lack of blood clotting, he was not stable for surgery. I was told he had internal bleeding and cerebral edema.

The only comfort I had during this whole ordeal was that my son got Elena, and my only wish is that he would have gotten her sooner.