Our son started having daily headaches, not associated with any illness, vision impairment, or recent trauma. There were a few occasions he woke up with a headache and vomited so his pediatrician ordered a brain MRI. It revealed a glioma on his brainstem. The glioma was blocking CSF drainage resulting in significant hydrocephalus that needed urgent surgical intervention. It was so hard to process the severity of his results because clinically he was acting fine – playful, still very active, and attending school. One can only imagine the feelings and thoughts that flooded our minds and our hearts. We immediately took him to the pediatric ER. After neurosurgery evaluated him in the ER we were admitted to the ICU so he would be closely monitored as they planned for surgery.

The moment we arrived to the ICU, Jenn made us all smile and laugh, despite our circumstances. We were happy she was our nurse again the next day. During rounds, the weight of everything hit us and we fell apart emotionally. Jenn rushed around to find the keys to the “butterfly room” so we could console one another and not let our son see our uncontrollable sobbing. We were thankful for the flexibility of the visitor policy, allowing his nana to be at the bedside with us. She was able to distract our son while we were in the butterfly room. Jenn would joke throughout her shift saying we were playing a game and it was called “hide nana.” She helped us tremendously that day as we settled into our new reality.

We wanted and needed more than ever to have our whole family all together. We asked Jenn if we could arrange something so that he could have a visit with his older brother and sister or if it was possible to even take him outside. Jenn spoke to the team on our behalves and they agreed. Thanks to Jenn, our family got to be together before he had his brain surgery. We were able to go outside and hang out in the garden area. This was so therapeutic. Jenn did not rush us, even though it was close to the end of her shift. She encouraged us to spend more time together. She was so lovely and funny with our other kids. She made everything so easy. Her emotional support and positivity gave us the courage and strength to cope with the unforeseen future. Thank you, Jenn, for providing exceptional nursing care to a fellow pediatric nurse, her son, and her family.