Miranda and I work on 9 West Doan as burn nurses. We encounter many patients that are with us for an extended amount of time who are going through some of the most difficult times in their lives. It is normal for the nurses on our floor to make connections with these long-term patients.
However, the connection that Miranda made with one of our patients, I'll call her Mrs. O, was truly special. Mrs. O came to us over a year ago with bad burns that she sustained from a fire that started in her RV while she was on vacation. Her care started out of state and was sent to us once she was well enough to leave the ICU. Although she was well enough to leave the ICU and come back home to Ohio, she still had a very long road to recovery. Miranda and Mrs. O got along right away and even though Mrs. O was going through very painful dressing changes, physical therapy and her everyday tasks had all become more challenging than they ever were before, I could tell her pain and anxiety was eased when Miranda was part of the team taking care of her.
Miranda helped her through what was probably the hardest time of her life by encouraging her relentlessly. She showed her that she really cared for her by not letting her give up and giving her some hard love that she needed to motivate herself through the pain. Their relationship grew as the weeks that Mrs. O was here and finally she was able to move on to her next phase of care at a rehab facility. Miranda was so happy to see Mrs. O well enough to get out of the hospital and sent her to the rehab facility with lots of hugs for luck and encouragement and we could see in her eyes that she really cared for Mrs. O and that Miranda would miss her beloved patient.
Although Mrs. O had been discharged from K9W, it was not the last time Miranda saw her. Miranda picks up overtime at our outpatient clinic regularly and not one week after Mrs. O had been discharged Miranda showed up to work with a big smile on her face.
"Guess who I saw?" She said. "Mrs. O! I got to do her dressings in the clinic!"
Week after week Miranda would update us on her progress and I could tell she felt truly privileged to be a part of Mrs. O recovering and getting her life back.
Time went on and eventually, Mrs. O was readmitted for an ortho surgery that would be the last major step in an over year-long recovery from the RV accident. She came back to us a brand new patient. She was much more independent than she had been, and was much more of her spunky self that we saw only bits and pieces of the first time she was here.
Miranda took care of her in one way or another every day she was at work. Whether she was in charge, on the floor or doing dressings she made special time to visit Mrs. O.
While I was doing Mrs. O's dressing changes one afternoon she told me how much Miranda's care and concern for her had meant to her over the past year and how Miranda had helped her to get this far. She said that Miranda was always pushing her to get better and that she understood now that her tough love and encouragement had helped get her where she is today. Mrs. O said she knew that it would have been easier for Miranda to take it easy on her and pity her but she was very grateful Miranda was with her through her recovery.
Mrs. O said Miranda was helping her fight her way back to enjoying her well-deserved retirement with her husband in Florida. After hearing how much Miranda meant to Mrs. O, I thought she would make a great DAISY Award Honoree and I know it would mean a lot to Miranda to be recognized for her care with our burn population and in particular Mrs. O!
Miranda works hard every day to keep our patients safe and motivates them to get better and find joy again after their injuries. She is a resource to everyone on our floor and our rock when things get hard. I told you the story of her connection with one patient but watching her at work every day I can see that she gives her heart and soul to all of our patients and they all love her for it.