Matthew Bodenham
August 2022
Matthew
Bodenham
,
RN
Pediatric ICU-10E
University of Michigan Health
Ann Arbor
,
MI
United States
The “invoice” looked legit! Matt had taken the time to make this all up and even added an image of her rare disease's awareness symbol in the corner. This invoice included things like the pillow search, warm blankets, and conversations with the nurse that had cared for us on other shifts.
My daughter was diagnosed with a rare disease in May of 2021, and God has provided us with just what we needed at every turn. During our time in ICU after her initial diagnosis, we met Matt and he reminded us of a big brother or coach. He was always cheering our daughter on as she learned to track her intake to prevent strokes prior to her surgery date. As we returned in July for the brain surgery, she made it bravely through the surgery, and as expected, moved out of the ICU the day after surgery.
Unfortunately, we returned to the ICU 30 minutes later because she began to experience TIAs that took her ability to talk for a period of time. We were all afraid, but she seemed to bounce right out of it as we returned to the ICU, and Matt was announced to be our nurse. (She remembered him fondly from her stay in May.) The following night they again tried to move him out of the ICU, but she began to experience TIAs after 10 min on the step-down unit. This time the TIAs got the best of her and she was afraid to go to sleep and was worried that she may have more while she slept. As we returned to the ICU, we were met by our beloved night nurse again, and he began to banter back and forth with her, immediately putting her at ease. You see, they had developed a joking and teasing relationship that she really adored! He would ask her if she needed something, and then jokingly told her it would cost her.
During one of the transitions between units, she lost a small pediatric pillow. Matt asked for another, but unfortunately, there wasn’t any in the PICU. He then scoured the hospital for a pillow, and our daughter told him it was gonna cost him the longer she had to wait. A short time later he entered the room for a neuro check, and he had a pillow under his arm, along with a mischievous grin on his face. Part of her care was hourly neuro checks, and he was always punctual for those checks, but she was always waiting for him to enter the room. Even if he was 1 minute late, she would tap her wrist and remind him he was late, and that it “was gonna cost him".
I could go on and on about the banter between the 2 of them that carried her through the stay and recovery while in the ICU. But the thing that tipped the scales for me was what he did the last night that he cared for my daughter. We had the pleasure of having Matt for 3 days in a row, but we knew he would be off for 5 days and would hopefully be out of the ICU when he returned for his next shift. In the middle of the night, he approached me with an envelope and asked me to give it to my daughter the next morning for his “services” that the 2 of them had been joking about over the last 3 days. The “invoice” looked legit! He had taken the time to make this all up and even added an image of her rare disease's awareness symbol in the corner. This invoice included things like the pillow search, warm blankets, and conversations with the nurse that had cared for us on other shifts. He even went as far as to give her a discount for his minimal tardiness. We loved this added bit of care that he didn’t have to do! As my daughter read the invoice, she giggled. Matt was standing there watching her from afar as she read the paper, and then smiled and turned around and walked away. We spent another 3 days in the ICU before moving to another unit. Upon leaving the ICU, she handed another nurse something to give to Matt. It was an “invoice” of her own…complete with charges for waking her up every hour, minimal tardiness, and of course charges for each night she had to stay on the unit without him as her nurse. But don’t worry, there were discounts for his ability to stop her dad from snoring when he came in for hourly neuro exams!
A month after leaving the hospital, she still talks about Matt and how the days that followed without him seemed so long. And while we had many great nurses, she never thought anyone came close to comparing to Matt. Matt deserves this award for his gentle care and ever-lasting kindness. He really understood our daughter, and exactly what she needed to heal.
Unfortunately, we returned to the ICU 30 minutes later because she began to experience TIAs that took her ability to talk for a period of time. We were all afraid, but she seemed to bounce right out of it as we returned to the ICU, and Matt was announced to be our nurse. (She remembered him fondly from her stay in May.) The following night they again tried to move him out of the ICU, but she began to experience TIAs after 10 min on the step-down unit. This time the TIAs got the best of her and she was afraid to go to sleep and was worried that she may have more while she slept. As we returned to the ICU, we were met by our beloved night nurse again, and he began to banter back and forth with her, immediately putting her at ease. You see, they had developed a joking and teasing relationship that she really adored! He would ask her if she needed something, and then jokingly told her it would cost her.
During one of the transitions between units, she lost a small pediatric pillow. Matt asked for another, but unfortunately, there wasn’t any in the PICU. He then scoured the hospital for a pillow, and our daughter told him it was gonna cost him the longer she had to wait. A short time later he entered the room for a neuro check, and he had a pillow under his arm, along with a mischievous grin on his face. Part of her care was hourly neuro checks, and he was always punctual for those checks, but she was always waiting for him to enter the room. Even if he was 1 minute late, she would tap her wrist and remind him he was late, and that it “was gonna cost him".
I could go on and on about the banter between the 2 of them that carried her through the stay and recovery while in the ICU. But the thing that tipped the scales for me was what he did the last night that he cared for my daughter. We had the pleasure of having Matt for 3 days in a row, but we knew he would be off for 5 days and would hopefully be out of the ICU when he returned for his next shift. In the middle of the night, he approached me with an envelope and asked me to give it to my daughter the next morning for his “services” that the 2 of them had been joking about over the last 3 days. The “invoice” looked legit! He had taken the time to make this all up and even added an image of her rare disease's awareness symbol in the corner. This invoice included things like the pillow search, warm blankets, and conversations with the nurse that had cared for us on other shifts. He even went as far as to give her a discount for his minimal tardiness. We loved this added bit of care that he didn’t have to do! As my daughter read the invoice, she giggled. Matt was standing there watching her from afar as she read the paper, and then smiled and turned around and walked away. We spent another 3 days in the ICU before moving to another unit. Upon leaving the ICU, she handed another nurse something to give to Matt. It was an “invoice” of her own…complete with charges for waking her up every hour, minimal tardiness, and of course charges for each night she had to stay on the unit without him as her nurse. But don’t worry, there were discounts for his ability to stop her dad from snoring when he came in for hourly neuro exams!
A month after leaving the hospital, she still talks about Matt and how the days that followed without him seemed so long. And while we had many great nurses, she never thought anyone came close to comparing to Matt. Matt deserves this award for his gentle care and ever-lasting kindness. He really understood our daughter, and exactly what she needed to heal.