When I gave birth to my daughter in early April, my father had recently been diagnosed out of the blue with late-stage terminal cancer. Kylee went above and beyond to make our birth experience as joyful and memorable as possible despite the underlying sadness of our situation. Besides being so understanding of my rollercoaster of emotions and accommodating to my family’s unique physical situation when visiting (my mom is fully blind, and my dad was wheelchair-bound at this point), there was one specific situation that stands out to me as most qualifying Kylee for this recognition. After learning about my dad’s illness, Kylee and the rest of the Comfort Care staff organized a birthday party (complete with a personalized teddy bear, peanut butter pie, and a group sing-a-long of the “Happy Birthday” song) for our new daughter so my dad could get to experience this special milestone with us. Needless to say, there was not a dry eye in the room, given the severity of my father’s illness. My dad sadly lost his battle with cancer just 2.5 weeks after our daughter was born, but I am so grateful that I have this happy memory to look back on. Kylee absolutely deserves to be recognized for her incredible kindness and empathy, which went beyond just regular postpartum care.

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Kylee is a caring nurse, who is frequently noted as someone who individualizes care and takes the time to ensure her patients are safe. While there are many examples I could share, there is one scenario where she went above and beyond in providing patient care.

This past April, one of our patients delivered a baby girl, and everything went as planned. While the delivery went as planned, as the family came to visit, the nursing team quickly realized that this was not a ‘normal’ situation. The patient’s father was terminally ill. Kylee provided care to the patient and the new family. She was deliberate in her care delivery, clustering care as much as possible and limited the number of interruptions she had to make, allowing the family time to be together.

Kylee understood the new grandfather, lovingly referred to as Grumpa, was terminally ill. She wanted to do something special for this family. Knowing the grandfather would not have the opportunity to be present for his granddaughter’s future birthdays. Kylee wanted to have a birthday party for the baby. Kylee wanted the grandfather to celebrate at least one birthday with his family. In between caring for her other patients, Kylee worked with the nursing supervisor, dietary, and other team members to plan a party. By the end of her shift, an impromptu surprise birthday party had come together.

The family celebrated with a birthday cake, decorations and pictures. The family was surprised and beyond thankful for the act of kindness and gratitude from Kylee and her team. Grumpa was able to hold his granddaughter and took part in celebrating her birth. Several weeks later, we received a note from the family sharing that the birthday party is a memory they will not forget. 

Kylee is a wonderful nurse with a heart of gold.