Nikki M. Rich
May 2022
Nikki M.
Rich
,
ADN
Cure 4 The Kids Foundation
Cure 4 The Kids Foundation
Las Vegas
,
NV
United States

 

 

 

She talked through what he went through, and his laughter came back.
I will never forget the day my heart felt so much pain. The anguish and suddenly so many questions filled the space in my head. My 16-year-old son, had just been diagnosed with Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma. He took his diagnosis head-on and immediately, like all these amazing children and adolescents said, lets get this done, lets hit this hard. During his first Rituximab, we had Nurse Nikki. Her amazing smile and positive energy immediately eased C’s nerves. He had just finished his first round of chemo and was receiving his therapy this session. My son’s port was hard to access from day one and the nurse at the hospital said to tell the nurse to access it over his shoulder. C explained the issue and Nikki walked through what she was going to do and step by step took my son’s recommendation to heart. She was able to access his port and this session went very well. Unfortunately, the next session of chemo did not go as planned. Nikki was not our nurse, but she stopped by to say hi to us and chatted with C to make sure everything was ok. My son is a big 16-year-old, so his treatments take the whole day. We were getting ready to finish up his chemo and it was the dreaded “Red Devil.” He infiltrated and the next several days were the hardest part of his cancer journey. He had to have emergency surgery to remove the port and replaced it with a Broviac (central line). This was so hard for him to accept. His spirit was broken. The next chemo session was administered at the hospital and then we were back at Cure 4 The Kids. Nikki was our oncology nurse. She immediately came over and gave C and me a giant hug. She talked through what he went through, and his laughter came back. This was just a bump in the road. She listened to him and comforted him. She began his chemo, and the day went by with great stories and laughter, the best medication. Nikki is always so professional; she walks through each step with her patient before she begins. She checks in frequently and makes you feel like you are her only patient. I know she treats every child in the clinic the same. Her healing hands and loving spirit have impacted so many and I am thankful that she was there for my son (and me) to be our nurse, to take care of us. I know the chemo is what cured my son, but it is also the impactful, positive, amazing Nurse Nikki that kept his smile going during his cancer journey. It is hard to pick just one nurse at Cure 4 The Kids, but my heart knew it had to be our Nurse Nikki. She is our number one and one amazing nurse.