July 2023
William
Cole
,
RN
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford
Palo Alto
,
CA
United States
Most skills are earned, but having a genuine compassionate heart, gentle kindness, and dedication to making a difference in someone’s life are innate traits.
My son, R, who is 15 years old, is a long-term patient in the PICU. We are grateful to everyone’s excellent care, but we want to recognize Will in particular. He awed us from the first time he took care of R up to this day. He signed up to be R’s primary nurse, even though he is a complicated patient with complex medical and nursing needs, from R’s stormy hard days up to the present, where he is now showing little steady progress. Will’s overall bedside demeanor and caring attitude have not changed. Most skills are earned, but having a genuine compassionate heart, gentle kindness, and dedication to making a difference in someone’s life are innate traits. Will’s diligence in preparing R for the next phase of his treatment (rehabilitation) is inspiring. He safely walked R in the entire unit despite the effort it required. He walked R to the restroom and was delighted when R emptied there for the first time. He took R to the outside garden for a short while to bask in the sun for the first time after nearly three months in the PICU. Will plays basketball (tossing in bed) with R and attends to his needs promptly. He makes us (parents) feel comfortable whenever we need to step out of the unit. He surely helps us believe that R will someday reach his full recovery. Healthcare may be experiencing challenges, struggles, and increasing staff shortages, but it is comforting to know that we still have nurses like Will who will go above and beyond of their professional roles in caring for their patients regardless of the level of care. Thus, Will deserves this special award.