We brought our 8-year-old daughter, X, to the CGH ER. She had collided with a friend on a water slide earlier in the day, and she was showing symptoms of a concussion that were growing increasingly worse. When Karen came out to triage X, she quickly recognized that X was terrified to be there, and even more scared that she was going to have to go into the ER by herself, without her dad and me. Karen immediately reassured X that they don't take kids away from their parents there and was quick to try to alleviate her anxiety the best that she could.

Once we were taken into the back to get her vitals, Karen and other nurses were joking around with X to try to get her to relax, and telling her how things worked, to try to make the visit less intimidating. Another nurse took her into a triage room and showed her the power chair and some other cool stuff in there. That was a huge first step in getting her to calm down somewhat. We were then placed in the "easy care" section of the ER, and while there, Karen kept coming back to check on X and always had a smile, and soothing words, and took a few minutes to joke around with her.

When the doctor okayed some meds for X's headache, Karen delivered them. Now usually, X is not at all good about taking medicine; she argues, says she doesn't need them, cries, and then finally takes them - it's an ordeal. I was telling X she needed to just take this, and make her head feel better. Karen handed X the cup and asked her jokingly, "Do I need to hold you down and shoot this down your throat?" X laughed, quickly grabbed the cup, and downed the liquid with zero complaint, discussion, or tears. Karen gave her a fist bump, and traded some wisecracks with her about being "a Karen", and from then on, X was not scared at all. She even had a CT, and never hesitated or was nervous about anything. This is all due to how great the nurses had been with her, and how they went out of their way to make sure she was at ease – especially Karen.

The rad tech who did the CT was also so friendly, kind, and great at her job. Our experience with her was brief, but I want to say thank you to her, as well.

Finally, I just cannot say thank you enough to Karen for turning what was scary for X into something that my daughter now regards as an interesting and overall pleasant experience. I know that nurses are so often undervalued by a lot of patients, but that never stops them from caring for those same people. Though Karen spent the most time with us, I do want to express my appreciation and gratitude for the hard work of all three of the nurses who interacted with us that night. Their professionalism, friendly faces, compassion, and hard work meant everything to me, my husband, and especially X.