Laura Cunningham
March 2023
Laura
Cunningham
,
RN
Trauma Neuro Intensive Care Unit
Ascension St. Vincent Hospital
Indianapolis
,
IN
United States
From the very beginning, she would give us her honest opinion, and I felt in my heart it was absolutely sincere. She was so incredibly helpful, knowledgeable, respectful, and genuine.
My 16 year-old son, was involved in an ATV accident in September. He had several skull fractures, with brain bleeding and swelling.
Coming into the ER by life flight and being transferred to the ICU, I’m sure you can imagine the shock a mother feels and the numbness that follows. I would have done anything to trade places with him. I needed to retain all the details the medical staff was giving me, but so much was over my head. I just needed someone to say he was going to be ok. Although it was months before we heard those words, I’ll never be able to explain the relief I felt when Laura was by his bedside just a few days into what would be a 4-week stay.
Laura went above and beyond providing care. Watching my oldest child struggle through every step of recovery, was such a terrifying time; but she made it just a little bit easier. She was so thorough with every little detail. From the very beginning, she would give us her honest opinion, and I felt in my heart it was absolutely sincere. She was so incredibly helpful, knowledgeable, respectful, and genuine. From explaining medications and drawing diagrams to giving us resources and explaining the goals and process to get there. I don’t think I would have made it through the whole situation without her help. She was so quick and eager to help us in any way possible. I never felt like we were a burden to her, even with the simplest questions or requests to the more difficult questions. She always made me feel like my questions or concerns were valid and good questions to be asking! She never brushed me off or made me feel inadequate. She encouraged us to learn and ask as many questions as much as possible about his condition and never once failed to inform us of anything. She was beyond encouraging and respectful! The stress that consumed me with every monitor beep or alarm, would just fade approaching a weekend when I knew Laura would be working.
A few weeks after he was discharged from the trauma neuro ICU, he was re-admitted to the MICU with an infection that couldn’t be treated at the rehab facility. Laura made several visits to see my son and check up on his progress. Right after his thoracotomy surgery in the MICU, he went into septic shock. A few days later we had a very scary incident where my son stopped responding and Laura came by to visit at that exact moment. She was so quick to calm my nerves! She started asking questions, but was so respectful not to step on the nurse's or doctor's toes given that was not her unit. She was so incredibly thoughtful of my stress and was able to calm my nerves and assure me that he was in good hands and came back to check on him again later that night to ensure that BOTH of us were doing better.
She puts so much love and care into her career and it means so much to families! Especially in a scary time with an unknown future. She was advocating for my son, and so accommodating to all of our needs! She made sure to give us advice for his future progress, what to look for, and what to expect. I looked forward to her shifts because I knew that my son would be very well cared for. It wasn’t that we had a bad experience with anyone on his care team, Laura just exceeded all expectations.
Exactly six months later, and my son making a full recovery and completely back to his normal self, I still replay the kindness and serving heart that she shared with us each and every day. I can not stress the next sentence enough. Laura Cunningham was truly a gift from God!
Coming into the ER by life flight and being transferred to the ICU, I’m sure you can imagine the shock a mother feels and the numbness that follows. I would have done anything to trade places with him. I needed to retain all the details the medical staff was giving me, but so much was over my head. I just needed someone to say he was going to be ok. Although it was months before we heard those words, I’ll never be able to explain the relief I felt when Laura was by his bedside just a few days into what would be a 4-week stay.
Laura went above and beyond providing care. Watching my oldest child struggle through every step of recovery, was such a terrifying time; but she made it just a little bit easier. She was so thorough with every little detail. From the very beginning, she would give us her honest opinion, and I felt in my heart it was absolutely sincere. She was so incredibly helpful, knowledgeable, respectful, and genuine. From explaining medications and drawing diagrams to giving us resources and explaining the goals and process to get there. I don’t think I would have made it through the whole situation without her help. She was so quick and eager to help us in any way possible. I never felt like we were a burden to her, even with the simplest questions or requests to the more difficult questions. She always made me feel like my questions or concerns were valid and good questions to be asking! She never brushed me off or made me feel inadequate. She encouraged us to learn and ask as many questions as much as possible about his condition and never once failed to inform us of anything. She was beyond encouraging and respectful! The stress that consumed me with every monitor beep or alarm, would just fade approaching a weekend when I knew Laura would be working.
A few weeks after he was discharged from the trauma neuro ICU, he was re-admitted to the MICU with an infection that couldn’t be treated at the rehab facility. Laura made several visits to see my son and check up on his progress. Right after his thoracotomy surgery in the MICU, he went into septic shock. A few days later we had a very scary incident where my son stopped responding and Laura came by to visit at that exact moment. She was so quick to calm my nerves! She started asking questions, but was so respectful not to step on the nurse's or doctor's toes given that was not her unit. She was so incredibly thoughtful of my stress and was able to calm my nerves and assure me that he was in good hands and came back to check on him again later that night to ensure that BOTH of us were doing better.
She puts so much love and care into her career and it means so much to families! Especially in a scary time with an unknown future. She was advocating for my son, and so accommodating to all of our needs! She made sure to give us advice for his future progress, what to look for, and what to expect. I looked forward to her shifts because I knew that my son would be very well cared for. It wasn’t that we had a bad experience with anyone on his care team, Laura just exceeded all expectations.
Exactly six months later, and my son making a full recovery and completely back to his normal self, I still replay the kindness and serving heart that she shared with us each and every day. I can not stress the next sentence enough. Laura Cunningham was truly a gift from God!