Ryan Kennard
July 2014
Ryan
Kennard
,
BSN
SICU
Medical Center of the Rockies
Loveland
,
CO
United States

 

 

 

The SICU patient was a father with two young children, who was involved in a car accident that caused traumatic amputation of both of his legs. After being on the unit for over two weeks, he and his wife were starting to get very depressed about his condition and their future. Ryan is a float pool nurse who cared for him. Ryan has two male friends who are on the USA Paralympian wrestling team; both have had traumatic amputations of their legs as a result of a car accident. Ryan facilitated a visit with the Paralympians and the patient in the SICU. The visit lasted for hours and lifted the patient's spirits far more than any other intervention had up to that point. The patient and his wife were very grateful as it helped them realize that life can still be very "normal" with prosthetic legs.

Ryan went above and beyond in her effort and provided this patient and his family with exceptional care.