Amy Murphy
July 2016
Amy
Murphy
,
BSN, RN
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin
Milwaukee
,
WI
United States
Amy is a strong, compassionate, and knowledgeable nurse. She is a strong advocate for her patients, always speaks up for the patient's best interests, and collaborates with the team as a whole to provide positive outcomes for her patient. She develops great rapport with families and becomes a trusted primary nurse for many patients. Amy has truly excelled in being at her best every day at work and is an irreplaceable member of the West 5 team.
***
When my little brother got sick our whole world stopped. I rushed home from my life in Virginia, to be with my family and have been at Children's close to three months. We never in a million years thought that we would be in this position, watching someone we love fight for their life. In this experience, I quickly realized just how much of a difference having one of our "VIP' nurses on the rotation for the day.
While all of the staff is amazing, Amy stood out as being the absolute best. She cared for my brother like no one else did; she fought for him and advocated for him like she was an extension of our family. She washed his hair every day. Do you know how special something like that is for a little boy who has been in bed 8 weeks? When you reach down to kiss his cheek, you could smell the clean soap residue from his hair, knowing that Amy had done her "spa treatment" on him that morning.
Amy cared for all of us. My husband, amidst all of this, was deployed. She made sure to ask me just enough how he was doing, where he was, etc. She even knew all of our family dogs by name. I will never forget Amy's name or face. She helped save my little brother. She is part of our family now. I wish her the best, and she is the most deserving of this award.
***
We have been home now almost as long as he was in the hospital at Children's. Never, ever would we have believed back that we were going to become fixtures there for 9 weeks. I've told his story through journal entries on his Caringbridge site but one entry, in particular, shines a light on the gratitude I feel for our nurse, Amy Murphy. Here is a portion of that entry:
"There's one nurse in particular that I can't stop crying about. It's Amy. My dear, sweet Amy. She's so young, so strong, and so precious to me. She cared for my son many more days than any of the other nurses. At the beginning of each shift, when the more senior nurses have the ability to choose their patients, Amy always chose my son. Each shift she cared for him like I would have. She bathed him, washed his hair, changed his gown and sheets, and she talked to him, even when he was unable to talk to her. She told him he was so strong. She answered all my questions and repeated many answers more than once. She held me as I wept uncontrollably. She saved my son.
Oh Amy, there are not enough words for the gratitude that fills my heart. You are and angel and your name will forever be said in my prayers. Granting Amy this extraordinary honor seems a small token of appreciation for the countless days she saved my son, my family and me. In my mind, she deserves nothing less than sainthood but I will certainly smile knowing that Amy is DAISY Nurse. I am certain that God was smiling down on us when he sent us Amy. We will never take for granted the perfection of care that she bestowed upon our son during his illness. "
***
When my little brother got sick our whole world stopped. I rushed home from my life in Virginia, to be with my family and have been at Children's close to three months. We never in a million years thought that we would be in this position, watching someone we love fight for their life. In this experience, I quickly realized just how much of a difference having one of our "VIP' nurses on the rotation for the day.
While all of the staff is amazing, Amy stood out as being the absolute best. She cared for my brother like no one else did; she fought for him and advocated for him like she was an extension of our family. She washed his hair every day. Do you know how special something like that is for a little boy who has been in bed 8 weeks? When you reach down to kiss his cheek, you could smell the clean soap residue from his hair, knowing that Amy had done her "spa treatment" on him that morning.
Amy cared for all of us. My husband, amidst all of this, was deployed. She made sure to ask me just enough how he was doing, where he was, etc. She even knew all of our family dogs by name. I will never forget Amy's name or face. She helped save my little brother. She is part of our family now. I wish her the best, and she is the most deserving of this award.
***
We have been home now almost as long as he was in the hospital at Children's. Never, ever would we have believed back that we were going to become fixtures there for 9 weeks. I've told his story through journal entries on his Caringbridge site but one entry, in particular, shines a light on the gratitude I feel for our nurse, Amy Murphy. Here is a portion of that entry:
"There's one nurse in particular that I can't stop crying about. It's Amy. My dear, sweet Amy. She's so young, so strong, and so precious to me. She cared for my son many more days than any of the other nurses. At the beginning of each shift, when the more senior nurses have the ability to choose their patients, Amy always chose my son. Each shift she cared for him like I would have. She bathed him, washed his hair, changed his gown and sheets, and she talked to him, even when he was unable to talk to her. She told him he was so strong. She answered all my questions and repeated many answers more than once. She held me as I wept uncontrollably. She saved my son.
Oh Amy, there are not enough words for the gratitude that fills my heart. You are and angel and your name will forever be said in my prayers. Granting Amy this extraordinary honor seems a small token of appreciation for the countless days she saved my son, my family and me. In my mind, she deserves nothing less than sainthood but I will certainly smile knowing that Amy is DAISY Nurse. I am certain that God was smiling down on us when he sent us Amy. We will never take for granted the perfection of care that she bestowed upon our son during his illness. "