Holly Johnson
January 2026
Holly
Johnson
,
RN
Adult Emergency Services
University of Michigan Health - Michigan Medicine
Ann Arbor
,
MI
United States
I love that, even though he was being a stinker, you still took the time to clean him up and went the extra mile to trim his matted hair, cut his toe, and trim his fingernails, and more.
Holly took care of my autistic adult son all day. He was very uncooperative due to his severe autism, and at times, I’m sure he was combative, aggressive, and downright difficult to handle.
I had to place him in a group home a year ago because of some family issues, and he has lost about 35 pounds. His personal care at the home is substandard, far below the way I would do it for him myself. He was passing out multiple times at home, so they called an ambulance to take him to UM emergency (my choice by war). I called to make sure he got here, but I was afraid to come in because I knew if he saw me, he would fight with everything he had to get me to take him out of there. He is even more difficult to deal with, and I wanted to make sure he was checked out properly, as he has never fallen or passed out before.
Normally, he is very agile, happy, active, and nonverbally vocal. He usually eats well, is not picky, and is generally a happy guy. He is toilet-trained during the day for urine; he always stays dry if you take him to the toilet regularly. However, solid waste is still a problem because he doesn’t have the patience to sit on the toilet long enough. After I worked a 10 hour shift as a clinical laboratory technologist here at Michigan Medicine on about 3 hours of broken sleep worrying about my son the night before, I went in to pick him up.
I was ready to try to cut his fingernails and comb his hair before he came totally out of the medication he had been on in the ER, hoping I could get him looking a little more presentable for society. I walked in to find that it was already done! Holly had combed and brushed his hair out, cut the matted hair off, trimmed his nails, including his toes, all while he was still out from anesthesia.
Holly, I cannot express the gratitude I have for you to find my child in this condition. He looked clean and so much better. I want to send you hugs and wishes for many kind patients in your future who aren’t mean to you, who don’t yell at you, who don’t scratch, bite, or hit. You are a good person. My son really is sweet in his own environment, and I love that, even though he was being a stinker, you still took the time to clean him up and went the extra mile to trim his matted hair, cut his toe, and trim his fingernails, and more. This shows compassion that most people do not have or show! Thank you!
I had to place him in a group home a year ago because of some family issues, and he has lost about 35 pounds. His personal care at the home is substandard, far below the way I would do it for him myself. He was passing out multiple times at home, so they called an ambulance to take him to UM emergency (my choice by war). I called to make sure he got here, but I was afraid to come in because I knew if he saw me, he would fight with everything he had to get me to take him out of there. He is even more difficult to deal with, and I wanted to make sure he was checked out properly, as he has never fallen or passed out before.
Normally, he is very agile, happy, active, and nonverbally vocal. He usually eats well, is not picky, and is generally a happy guy. He is toilet-trained during the day for urine; he always stays dry if you take him to the toilet regularly. However, solid waste is still a problem because he doesn’t have the patience to sit on the toilet long enough. After I worked a 10 hour shift as a clinical laboratory technologist here at Michigan Medicine on about 3 hours of broken sleep worrying about my son the night before, I went in to pick him up.
I was ready to try to cut his fingernails and comb his hair before he came totally out of the medication he had been on in the ER, hoping I could get him looking a little more presentable for society. I walked in to find that it was already done! Holly had combed and brushed his hair out, cut the matted hair off, trimmed his nails, including his toes, all while he was still out from anesthesia.
Holly, I cannot express the gratitude I have for you to find my child in this condition. He looked clean and so much better. I want to send you hugs and wishes for many kind patients in your future who aren’t mean to you, who don’t yell at you, who don’t scratch, bite, or hit. You are a good person. My son really is sweet in his own environment, and I love that, even though he was being a stinker, you still took the time to clean him up and went the extra mile to trim his matted hair, cut his toe, and trim his fingernails, and more. This shows compassion that most people do not have or show! Thank you!