I was called to re-access an 8-year old's port on 4 West PICU, secondary to no blood return. The patient had been transferred from another facility earlier in the shift. We accessed the port but still did not have a blood return. The next step was Cath Flo. We were a little anxious about this and called over to 4 Central for advice/guidance/reassurance. Birdie was in charge, with an assignment, and very busy, but she still walked all the way over to 4 WEST, accessed the port, and gave us the green light to proceed. We administered the Cath Flo and we were eventually successful in obtaining blood return!
However, the story doesn't stop there. While the Cath Flo was dwelling on that patient, Dan, the Nursing Supervisor, called me about a Hem-Onc patient in the ED whose parents were requesting the "expert". Once again, even though Birdie was extremely busy, she walked all the way down to the ED to appease the parents and successfully accessed his port (which was a difficult one also). These were not her patients, but Birdie rose above and truly exemplified the qualities of an expert resource and mentor! We are so grateful for Birdie!