Mia was the nurse who covered several of our daughter's day shifts during our stay at Lurie Children's Hospital. We, as a family, would like to recognize Mia as a DAISY Nurse. The form states a nurse must be a Leader, Knowledgeable, and Advocate for Families, a Communicator and a Positive Force, Mia has been all of that to our family and more.
One of the first characteristics we observed that set Mia apart was the positive energy in her connection with our daughter A. She would engage with Mia, she would look forward to Mia being in the room with her, and wanted to walk, talk pills, do what she needed to do because it made Mia happy to see her progress through her illness. In that same vein of being a positive force, Mia could see what the steroids were taking a toll on A, and we as parents needed to stop out for a minute. Mia played games with A, they did nails together, went for a walk on the floor. That allowed us to refocus on what was important and not the side effects of the medications.
Mia made our daughter feel loved and took the focus of the illness off the plate for A. A had to go down for a major test that would take hours to complete. She was nervous. Mia walked with her and upon return had made a sign with cut-out letters to greet her. Her compassion for her young patients is beyond the call of duty.
At a few points in our stay, there were different opinions on courses of treatment, and communication between various departments was not as complete and understood by all parties. Mia helped us articulate what we wanted to see happen and helped us to get back as close to team rounds as we could. Without that medication and course of treatment would have been altered, and in our opinion would not have been successful.
Leadership was also visible as Mia was always being shadowed by nursing students. During a blood transfusion, she had 5-6 nursing students in the room showing them what needed to be done with that procedure. Though what was most important to us as a family was that during that explanation she never lost her personal/caring qualities and that human connection that this was happening to our daughter and kept reassuring us that this was safe, needed, and what to look for positive and negative side effects. She even put tape over the line as A did not like seeing the blood going into her body. What greater example could be set for those future nurses?
As we prepared to leave during our stay we needed FMLA forms signed and notes for work. Mia saw we were struggling with that and offered to help even though she was not our assigned nurse for that particular day. When she sees that a problem exists or that something could be improved, she leaps in and makes it better. Mia is a positive force and definitely should be recognized for her efforts.
Note: This is Mia's 2nd DAISY Award!