Our 10-year-old daughter was hospitalized due to a brown recluse spider bite. She was in so much pain, dealing with a full body rash, aching and nausea, and battling fevers in addition to this wound on her leg. With so many unknowns from day to day and plans changing often, our daughter was scared and anxious about what was going on and when she would go home.

Kayla was with her for three nights of her stay and instantly had a connection with her. They were able to laugh and share stories and quickly learned they were both Swifties. Kayla was able to ease her worries by talking about things she liked to help her forget about the things that scared her (her wound, pain, IV…). I could go on and on about what she did for our daughter during this time, but I’ll just list a few examples.

1.) Calming her before blood draws from her IV:  My daughter felt comfortable with Kayla and trusted that she would do her best to not make it hurt. She had so much anxiety around the IV after having 4 during her stay. Kayla would tell her how awesome she did once it was done and was able to bring a smile to her face even in the moment that she didn’t feel the greatest.

2.) Kayla walked her through taking her first capsule pills:  This was a step to get her home on oral antibiotics and off IV antibiotics. This took a lot of patience and coaching. She sat by her and demonstrated over and over how to do it. There were struggles and eventually required new pills so then they tried applesauce and she was able to do it! The encouragement, patience, and support she offered led to this being a successful experience.

3.) Making her feel important and valued:  She would let her know she would round on her last, and then she could spend more time with her after to help calm her before bed. This gave her time to feel like a normal 10-year-old girl and was a great distraction to the discomfort she was in (these were nights at the end of her 9-day stay, so she felt better than she did at the beginning). They would chat about Taylor Swift, Halloween costumes, shopping, and Kayla’s dog (our daughter wants a dog so this was very much a conversation she loved talking about). Our last night Kayla had her nurse buddy with her. She was in training and also a fellow Swifty, so this was an immediate connection with our daughter. Again, they were both so sweet through all my daughter’s questions like they were being interviewed. They didn’t seem to mind and were able to redirect the conversation when needed. All that she did helped so much for a little girl who has had very little control throughout this situation.

I felt she went above and beyond 10x more to make this experience better for our daughter, seeing her laugh and looking forward to her coming by was a light in our dark and long days. She would even ask her to wake her before leaving in the morning to say goodbye! We are forever grateful for her kindness and care for our daughter.