My wife and I have a 17-month-old boy named C who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma. Cathy was one of our first nurses on the unit and continued to take care of our boy (and us). Not only is Cathy an outstanding nurse for our C, but an excellent educator for my wife and me. C has a central line catheter placed as well as a nasogastric tube. My wife is a labor and delivery nurse, but Cathy went out of her way to sit down with us both and review our safety protocols, tricks, and tips for home. At the time, home seemed a distant memory but Cathy was adamant about preparing us and getting us excited to be at home for a brief time before our return for round two of chemotherapy. A few days before our discharge, my wife had been at home for an evening with our three-year-old boy. Cathy came in smiling and pumped for a sterile central line dressing change. "My wife should be here in about an hour or two. Can we wait for her and let her do it?" But Cathy responded, "You can do it. I'll be right here with you. Let's do it!" And by golly, she coached me right through it. It was an awesome adrenaline rush, but we got it done. Then she said, "We're going to have to change sides for his NG tube. You up for it?" After that? "Let's go." She has me practice the day before on the dummy and I told her, "Ain't no way," but she supported me and cheered me all the way through it. And not only that but afterward hugged me and congratulated me and really built me up. Then she had me call my wife and brag about our huge success.
Cathy has been an excellent nurse and made sure my wife and I are getting out to take care of ourselves. She has shared with us her own connection to purpose as her son is a cancer survivor and given us encouragement along those lines.