I was in total panic. My 13 year old daughter was seriously ill and had to be rushed to the PMCH on a frigid January night. No one should ever have to feel that helpless, but there I was. My husband was out of town and my relatives live 10 hours away.
All of the nurses were excellent, from the ER nurse who treated my daughter with gentle hands and kind eyes to every single nurse on the floor in the ICU who slipped in an out of my girl's room with consideration and respect. They were all great at their jobs and I am most appreciative.
However, when the vitals were taken, the meds hung, and the lights dimmed, I found myself at the bedside of my sweet daughter as she struggled and everything hung in the balance. I was paralyzed with fear. If you have children, you know that there is nothing worse in the whole world than sitting, staring at your sick child and waiting as the clock ticks away the hours.
Thankfully, I was not alone. Nicole Loy was there. This young woman waited a few respectful moments, then started talking to me. She seemed to have a sixth sense about what needed to be said…and this is not something that can be taught. It is, instead, an emotional awareness that a person is born with. Luckily for me, Nicole has that gift and chose nursing as a career. That night, she had been assigned to monitor my daughter and I had an endless stream of questions, which she answered thoughtfully and with expertise. She exercised extreme patience and probably answered some of the same questions multiple times because my brain was racing and I could not stop talking. We were up all night. Comforting a crying and terrified parent, especially a mother, takes a certain skill set and is a rare gift.
Nursing takes extraordinary medical talent, but it was more than that. Nicole made me feel safe. She exuded calm and capability. She knew when to talk and when to advise me to try and get some sleep. Most of all, she was an island of calm for me when I was alone, vulnerable, and insanely worried about my daughter. Nicole treated my daughter with compassion and later with humor - which possibly helped my 13 year old more than anything else in her time of vulnerability.
The next night Nicole came back to visit me, even though she was not assigned to us. The next night, she came again…and when my daughter was finally well enough to be taken out of ICU, she came to visit in the regular pediatric unit just to say hello and to check on my daughter. Above and beyond? Absolutely! And I am so grateful to Nicole!
What have I learned from this extraordinary young woman? I have learned that nursing is not just a career, it is a calling. I have learned that it takes something very special to be a really good nurse. And I have learned that if Nicole Loy is the face of nursing, then we are all very lucky indeed. I am profoundly thankful and grateful for her!
She went way above and beyond for us. What is more, I am sure she does it every single day and for every patient she comes in contact with.
The St. Vincent Children's Intensive Care Unit is lucky to have Nicole Loy. Peyton Manning would be proud to know that a nurse like Nicole is the face of the hospital. I will never forget her kindness to my scared 13 year old girl and her equally desperate mother.