August 2026 Honoree
John Huelseman, BSN, RN
We encountered John when my daughter was admitted to the hospital for a few days. I never left the hospital, so I was very involved with her experience. She came in as an emergency case that ended up being diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis and needed many blood transfusions, iron infusions, tests, procedures, etc.
The problem was that my daughter is terrified of all things medical due to trauma when she was younger, involving her brother needing a lot of medical care. Even entering the hospital was difficult and traumatizing for her. When anyone entered the room for any reason, her BP would go over 150 and set off alarms, so this was not just in her head; she was physically reacting to the environment.
When we were assigned John as our nurse, we immediately looked at each other and thought we would plan to request a woman because of her fear of all things medical, and she also has a fear of males, so that would add to the fear. We had already requested females in the ER for certain tests and exams. I told my daughter I would talk to John in the hallway before we made a decision.
After explaining the situation to John, I immediately could tell that he was going to be our nurse and he was going to take our situation seriously and respect my daughter and her situation immensely. I have chills typing about this now. He was like an angel sent to make our terrifying scenario something we could face.
She was horrified at anyone touching her arms or her IV, and he just respected that and did what was needed with a level of gentleness that was incredible. Even talking about what was happening would send her into a panic attack, so we would make plans in the hallway for how to proceed with each needed procedure.
At one point, he had to give her a painful iron infusion in her IV with a needle – one of the worst-case scenarios for her to endure, we made the plan with my daughter that he would come in and say nothing and just calmly start. During this infusion, a whole group of doctors came for their rounds and were not understanding her situation. Her heart rate was making the alarms go off; she started to panic.
We made the decision for him to calmly finish the infusion, and he did this with such care not to touch her sensitive IV site or arm at all. When he finished, the doctors who would not just give her a minute to recover from this difficult situation and the interaction with the doctors made her so upset that she started to go pale and vomit and was just in such a bad place.
John jumped to the aid of helping in any way he could, and he stayed so calm and respectful of her issues and difficulties as a patient. He ended up being our favorite nurse of the whole terrible experience and I just can’t thank him enough for being a little bit of light for my daughter and I during the worst time of her life.
He should be rewarded in any way possible for his professionalism, along with extreme empathy and respect. We did not make it at all easy on him, and he met the challenge with strength, competence, and grace.
Thank you to John!
The problem was that my daughter is terrified of all things medical due to trauma when she was younger, involving her brother needing a lot of medical care. Even entering the hospital was difficult and traumatizing for her. When anyone entered the room for any reason, her BP would go over 150 and set off alarms, so this was not just in her head; she was physically reacting to the environment.
When we were assigned John as our nurse, we immediately looked at each other and thought we would plan to request a woman because of her fear of all things medical, and she also has a fear of males, so that would add to the fear. We had already requested females in the ER for certain tests and exams. I told my daughter I would talk to John in the hallway before we made a decision.
After explaining the situation to John, I immediately could tell that he was going to be our nurse and he was going to take our situation seriously and respect my daughter and her situation immensely. I have chills typing about this now. He was like an angel sent to make our terrifying scenario something we could face.
She was horrified at anyone touching her arms or her IV, and he just respected that and did what was needed with a level of gentleness that was incredible. Even talking about what was happening would send her into a panic attack, so we would make plans in the hallway for how to proceed with each needed procedure.
At one point, he had to give her a painful iron infusion in her IV with a needle – one of the worst-case scenarios for her to endure, we made the plan with my daughter that he would come in and say nothing and just calmly start. During this infusion, a whole group of doctors came for their rounds and were not understanding her situation. Her heart rate was making the alarms go off; she started to panic.
We made the decision for him to calmly finish the infusion, and he did this with such care not to touch her sensitive IV site or arm at all. When he finished, the doctors who would not just give her a minute to recover from this difficult situation and the interaction with the doctors made her so upset that she started to go pale and vomit and was just in such a bad place.
John jumped to the aid of helping in any way he could, and he stayed so calm and respectful of her issues and difficulties as a patient. He ended up being our favorite nurse of the whole terrible experience and I just can’t thank him enough for being a little bit of light for my daughter and I during the worst time of her life.
He should be rewarded in any way possible for his professionalism, along with extreme empathy and respect. We did not make it at all easy on him, and he met the challenge with strength, competence, and grace.
Thank you to John!
Thank you, John, for your exceptional compassion, advocacy, and dedication to your patients. You truly make a difference.
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