June 2024
Hannah
McKee
,
RN, BSN
PICU
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Los Angeles
,
CA
United States
She really worried about the whole patient, and really saw the whole person. We were so touched by her kindness and really felt she went above and beyond.
Our son, Q, needed a repeat Neurosurgery to remove the additional pituitary tumor to cure his Cushing's Disease, and the way it worked out, the surgery date fell 2 days before his birthday. We were anxious before the surgery and were so relieved that it went well, that the reality of spending his birthday in the PICU hadn't really landed with us. Hannah went out of her way to make sure Q knew that his 13th birthday was a big deal to everyone. In addition to taking excellent medical care of him, she and another nurse handmade a banner out of printed letters and cut out flag shapes, then strung them together with cloth ribbon and snuck into our room to hang a "Happy Birthday!" banner for him to wake up to (with whatever little sleep he got). It completely made his day. But even further--she arranged for a care package with ANOTHER handmade sign for him and a Lego kit to arrive during rounds. She really worried about the whole patient, and really saw the whole person. We were so touched by her kindness and really felt she went above and beyond. The really fun part, is Q's Dad's birthday is the day after his, so even after we left the PICU and went to floor room, I was able to re-hang the banner, and then add HIS name in paper letters for today, when he came to visit. Really, it is the gift that keeps on giving.