October 2021
Margaret
Seltzer
,
RN
CICU
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Philadelphia
,
PA
United States

 

 

 

Peggy helped me to prepare for the different stages my daughter would go through mentally, emotionally, and physically.
My daughter developed COVID myocarditis. (Prior to this, she was completely healthy. She played varsity tennis, had a job, loved doing trapezes, and was in the gym regularly). She was hospitalized for 35 days and was on ECMO and a ventilator during her hospitalization. Peggy was her nurse for a significant amount of days when she was the illest. She took such good care of my daughter. Though she was not completely herself from the illness and the medication, it seemed like Peggy studied her.

Initially, I never left the hospital because I was quarantined. When it was lifted, I refused to leave my daughter's side. Peggy was so loving and caring that I felt comfortable enough to leave for brief periods to run errands in town. As my daughter became more and more alert (but couldn't speak), Peggy could decipher her needs and wants through her emotions (which changed constantly), facial expressions, and hand motions. My daughter always requested Peggy as her nurse.

At times, she preferred Peggy to do certain things for her over me. She had complete trust in Peggy. Even when she was not her nurse, she would visit her and even visit when we moved to the CCU. Peggy was also great at helping me to get a little familiar with the city (which was intimidating to me, with so many cars, so much noise).

Peggy helped me to prepare for the different stages my daughter would go through mentally, emotionally, and physically. She knew that I was very interested in my daughter's care and always asked if I wanted to take part in bathing and other tasks. I always wanted to do for my daughter because caring for her was comforting to me. Peggy knew how important it was for me to help my child.