My daughter had outpatient sinus surgery at Nash UNC. She has severe anxiety when it comes to anything medical. We were told by her surgeon to arrive early in order to get medication to help her anxiety while waiting. Everyone we encountered was told the same thing in regards to arriving early, but no one acknowledged her fear. Everything escalated once the anesthesiologist came in and basically dismissed her feelings and said that the parents were more anxious than she was. At that point, my daughter broke down after trying to remain strong the entire morning.

Ivy, by chance, came into my daughter’s room right after the anesthesiologist left to unlock the bathroom door for the adjoining room and saw how visibly upset my daughter was. She took care of the bathroom for her patient and came back to see my daughter. She asked if she could talk with her. She calmly explained everything about her surgery team and how everyone had a role to make sure she would be taken care of throughout the procedure. She kept her distracted by talking about upcoming birthdays and summer plans. She was going to find our CRNA in order to explain the situation and ask for medication. Before she could, he arrived, and she advocated for my daughter and asked that he give her something stat.

Once my daughter was in recovery, Ivy came by to check on her to make sure she was doing okay. She was not our daughter’s nurse. She just happened to come into her room. But she was truly a blessing to us. She went above and beyond and showed true compassion for my daughter and genuinely tried to ease her fear then stopping by in recovery when she could have been done for the day, was just the cherry on top. She demonstrated the qualities of a patient-focused, compassionate, and caring nurse and for that, my daughter, husband, and I will be forever grateful!