Denny is a member of the small baby team in the Intensive Care Nursery, and his compassion and love amaze me. We have recently had several really hard deaths, and he was one of the main nurses caring for those patients. He comes into work with the mindset of doing everything he can to make this difficult time easier. To the baby who is too sick to touch, he gives a bath because everyone deserves to be cleaned. He sees the whole person, not just what is medically going on.
To the Mom who is too scared to hold her dying son, he holds her hand and talks to her for hours. He listens to her fears, her dreams for her son, and lets her know that it's okay she isn't ready to say goodbye. To the Mom who feels her time with her baby suddenly slipping away, he encourages her to put her hands in the isolette and talk to her. When times are hard and nurses must see so many deaths, it is really easy to become hard to the situation, to be judgmental of the parents or tired of giving everything, just to lose the patient in the end. I have never seen Denny be this way with his patients. Every parent and patient deserve the kindness he gives, and we should all strive to be more like Denny.