February 2019
Kodi
Kutler
,
BSN, RNC-NIC
ECMO Department
Children's Hospital Colorado
Aurora
,
CO
United States
Kodi was the nurse for our daughter on the day we were being discharged from Children's. We felt relieved that we were going home, but also nervous and uneasy about the plan of care to send our daughter home on oxygen and also in the same car seat that she had her episode of apnea in. Being a nurse myself, I felt weird about this plan but felt a bit trapped and thought this is just what we had to do for our baby. Luckily for us, Kodi came in and met us that morning, and immediately started discussing the plan of care with myself and my husband. I shared my concerns and Kodi agreed, and immediately she went into action to advocate for us and our daughter. By the time we were discharged, we had a new car seat that was safer for our smaller baby and she did not require the small amount of oxygen that the team originally thought she needed. As her parents, we felt like our voices were heard thanks to Kodi. We also felt like we had a safer and more thought-out plan of care due to her stepping in and advocating for our daughter. As a nurse, I felt inspired by how much she advocated for our family and plan to incorporate that into how I care for my patients in the future.