Alayna Britz
October 2024
Alayna
Britz
,
RN
Pediatric ICU
University of Michigan Health at Michigan Medicine
Ann Arbor
,
MI
United States
But with Alayna as our son’s nurse, it gave us a sense of comfort and relief knowing he was in such great hands if we were to leave the hospital.
My son was brought into the hospital 5 days before Christmas for RSV, and Alayna was our day shift nurse for two days. I cannot talk more highly of a nurse than Alayna. She went above and beyond every single day! She made sure we had a Christmas tree, Christmas card, and Christmas PJs and put in orders for our son to get a swing, vibrating chair, mobile for his crib, and an ocean light and music crib machine for the room. She also came up with little things like stuffed animals and rattles for play. She developed daily goals for our son, too.
One day, Alayna made us cry (in a good way) by doing a Christmas project with our son. She had no idea that I had been wanting to get his footprints in ink and create a project using the prints. She found an idea on Pinterest of taking an imprint of his footprints and putting them on paper with the saying “love you from my head to my mistletoes”. She had it colored and laminated and gave it to us for his first Christmas. We were speechless and overwhelmed with gratitude!
As parents of two kids, we were torn between being there for our son in the hospital or being there for our other son at home. But with Alayna as our son’s nurse, it gave us a sense of comfort and relief knowing he was in such great hands if we were to leave the hospital. We felt so comfortable with her that we were able to spend Christmas day with both boys, splitting our time between the two. As a parent, that meant the world to us! Not only was she on top of keeping him comfortable, safe, and happy, but she explained things to us in a way that we didn’t feel like we should have already known.
The truth is that parents don’t know everything but are willing to learn. She was also even helpful to other nurses and patients, on top of making sure that we were taken care of, too. Before Alayna left the room to do anything, she always gave us a heads-up and asked if we needed anything before she left. She also always asked another nurse to keep an eye and ear out for our son in case he needed something. Being in the ICU is so stressful and even more stressful for parents watching their babies go through things they shouldn’t have to go through, but with nurses like Alayna, she gives us hope that they (the patient) will be ok and are in the best hands!
Thank you so much, Alayna!
One day, Alayna made us cry (in a good way) by doing a Christmas project with our son. She had no idea that I had been wanting to get his footprints in ink and create a project using the prints. She found an idea on Pinterest of taking an imprint of his footprints and putting them on paper with the saying “love you from my head to my mistletoes”. She had it colored and laminated and gave it to us for his first Christmas. We were speechless and overwhelmed with gratitude!
As parents of two kids, we were torn between being there for our son in the hospital or being there for our other son at home. But with Alayna as our son’s nurse, it gave us a sense of comfort and relief knowing he was in such great hands if we were to leave the hospital. We felt so comfortable with her that we were able to spend Christmas day with both boys, splitting our time between the two. As a parent, that meant the world to us! Not only was she on top of keeping him comfortable, safe, and happy, but she explained things to us in a way that we didn’t feel like we should have already known.
The truth is that parents don’t know everything but are willing to learn. She was also even helpful to other nurses and patients, on top of making sure that we were taken care of, too. Before Alayna left the room to do anything, she always gave us a heads-up and asked if we needed anything before she left. She also always asked another nurse to keep an eye and ear out for our son in case he needed something. Being in the ICU is so stressful and even more stressful for parents watching their babies go through things they shouldn’t have to go through, but with nurses like Alayna, she gives us hope that they (the patient) will be ok and are in the best hands!
Thank you so much, Alayna!