Vanessa Muniz
June 2024
Vanessa
Muniz
,
LPN
Pediatric Emergency Department
University of Maryland Medical Center Downtown Campus
Baltimore
,
MD
United States

 

 

 

She spoke to our daughter with such kindness and explained everything she was doing. She let her hold the equipment to ease her fears and made games out of things that could be perceived as scary.
Vanessa is truly an angel on earth. We brought my daughter (20 months) into the pediatric ER with a high fever and refusing to eat or drink. My husband and I were so nervous and scared. We were immediately taken back to a room where Vanessa was her nurse. To say that just her presence put us at ease would be an understatement. Vanessa was so incredibly kind, patient, and informative, and it was immediately evident that she had a genuine and caring heart. The patience that Vanessa had for our daughter (and us) was something to marvel at. We had been trying to give her medication for hours, and Vanessa came in so calm and patient and sat with our daughter for so long, helping her take the medication one little sip by sip. Her voice, tone, and demeanor were so calming to our daughter that she started taking the medication with her so quickly. She spoke to our daughter with such kindness and explained everything she was doing. She let her hold the equipment to ease her fears and made games out of things that could be perceived as scary. We were so impressed. With other procedures, Vanessa explained everything to us in great detail and walked us through each and every step, putting us at ease and calming our worries. Our daughter immediately gravitated towards Vanessa, putting on gloves just to do what she was doing, and asking to go with her to get stickers every time she came in. Although we were only with Vanessa for a few hours- her presence made such an impact on us. We truly did not want her shift to end! As parents, it is terrifying to have a sick child. However, knowing that they are getting extraordinary care from someone as compassionate as Vanessa makes all the difference in the world. We can never thank her enough and wish to express our sincerest gratitude for her hard work, dedication, gentle nature, and caring heart.