Kayci was one of 6 nurses that have been assigned to us over our 5-day stay so far. Kayci was a clear stand out from the first few minutes of interaction.
My son was admitted for a wound revision from surgery 5 weeks ago that was infected and required the pain management team as well as the infectious disease department. The surgery left my son with off the charts pain due to his wound vac.
From the beginning, Kayci felt like a skilled family member caring for him. She had such a sense of humor and embraced my son's animated personality while he was on his drugs. She was professional and knowledgeable while feeling like a part of our family. It was like we had known her forever. The most important standout characteristic that I noticed about her was that she responded to my son's pain spikes with a higher sense of urgency than the nurses that came before her even though by the time she was assigned to us, the pain management team had dialed in his drug protocol. He would go from a 5 to a 9 within 15-20 minutes and she was on top of it.
I would often voluntarily walk to the nurses' station throughout my stay, trying not to interrupt other tasks they were involved in, or save them time since I know how busy they are. Kayci would respond to whatever my comment or request was as if I was talking to her about her own child, all while still taking care of her other patients. If she had a few free minutes after measuring pee, giving meds, or checking in on him, she would kindly stand and just laugh and interact with my son's verbal, drug-induced ridiculousness which was actually quite funny.
A Code Blue occurred while on her shift. If I hadn't heard it over the speakers you would never have known anything happened. It was like nothing happened, she never skipped a beat.
Kayci is special and a huge asset to your team. Our entire family identified Kayci as a shining star in our darkest hours.