Patrick Leonard
October 2017
Patrick
Leonard
,
RN
NICU
Children's Minnesota
Minneapolis
,
MN
United States
My husband mentioned Patrick and his support immediately after delivery many times during our hospital stay.
I am a registered nurse at Children's, and I also had the life-changing experience of being a NICU mother here in the spring. Nothing can prepare you for the delivery of your first child, especially if the delivery goes wrong. With my neonatal background at Children's, some would say I know too much. However, this was not the case for my husband when our daughter had a very traumatic delivery.
Afterwards, my husband was torn between consoling me and watching the doctors and nurses work to resuscitate our child. That is where Patrick stepped in. He was the CRN that night. He saw my husband with a look of terror on his face and came to the rescue. He sat him down in our daughter's NICU room and explained everything that was going on in a way he could understand. He offered support and made sure his questions were answered. He took a few minutes during an intense time to 'calm the storm'. I cannot even begin to describe how much this meant to my husband.
When I finally was able to visit her, Patrick was at her bedside. He joined together with the bedside RN to update us on her progress in a positive and honest way and made sure we had everything we needed. Even though we couldn't hold our baby, he did everything he could to make us feel like we were all that she needed at that moment. All of the nurses we encountered during our stay were fabulous and contributed to the excellent quality of care we received at Children's, but I feel that Patrick exemplified family-centered care in a way that deserves to be recognized.
Our daughter was on body cooling and was rewarmed one afternoon. Patrick brought us coffee and a treat to celebrate her rewarming day when he came into work that night. Little things like that make a world of a difference when you are dealing with the stress of a NICU environment! My husband mentioned Patrick and his support immediately after delivery many times during our hospital stay. Thank you, Patrick for everything you did. You are an exemplary nurse!
Afterwards, my husband was torn between consoling me and watching the doctors and nurses work to resuscitate our child. That is where Patrick stepped in. He was the CRN that night. He saw my husband with a look of terror on his face and came to the rescue. He sat him down in our daughter's NICU room and explained everything that was going on in a way he could understand. He offered support and made sure his questions were answered. He took a few minutes during an intense time to 'calm the storm'. I cannot even begin to describe how much this meant to my husband.
When I finally was able to visit her, Patrick was at her bedside. He joined together with the bedside RN to update us on her progress in a positive and honest way and made sure we had everything we needed. Even though we couldn't hold our baby, he did everything he could to make us feel like we were all that she needed at that moment. All of the nurses we encountered during our stay were fabulous and contributed to the excellent quality of care we received at Children's, but I feel that Patrick exemplified family-centered care in a way that deserves to be recognized.
Our daughter was on body cooling and was rewarmed one afternoon. Patrick brought us coffee and a treat to celebrate her rewarming day when he came into work that night. Little things like that make a world of a difference when you are dealing with the stress of a NICU environment! My husband mentioned Patrick and his support immediately after delivery many times during our hospital stay. Thank you, Patrick for everything you did. You are an exemplary nurse!