Minjoo Ahn
May 2025
Minjoo
Ahn
,
RN
Sears Cancer Clinic
The Hospital for Sick Children
Toronto
,
Ontario
Canada
T exhibits medical mistrust, but Minjoo has taken the time to build a foundation of secure attachment with him. She was the only one both willing and able to facilitate this experience.
Minjoo was able to acquire donated Maple Leafs tickets, and took one of our oncology patients, T, to the game. She went after work, on her own time, to ensure he had this special experience. While cancer is a difficult diagnosis for any kid, T is undergoing additional trauma at this time, through complex housing, familial, and psychosocial stressors. Minjoo not only recognized that this experience would be memorable and important to T, but that his mom needed the break and offered to take him herself. T exhibits medical mistrust, but Minjoo has taken the time to build a foundation of secure attachment with him. She was the only one both willing and able to facilitate this experience. She organized transportation to the Scotiabank Arena, ensured he had food he liked at the stadium, and encouraged him to participate in the "Fist Bump" program prior to the game (which he had refused to do while at the hospital). She got him dressed, packed a bag of items for his physical and psychosocial needs, and accepted his emotional state for what it was. These may seem like small feats, but for a child as complicated as T, these actions make all of the difference. There are many of us who have cared for T, and we all agree that we've never seen him as elated as he was in anticipation of, and after he returned from the game. The impact this experience had, and Minjoo's critical part in getting him there, is immeasurable. If this isn't going above and beyond for a job, I don't know what is.