February 2025
Karli
Scheler
,
RN
KOP NICU
Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia
Philadelphia
,
PA
United States
Karli would routinely leave hand-written notes to us on the AngelEye camera as if B wrote them for us. Better yet, she used these notes to announce important milestones to us, like when B got her feeding tube out.
My wife and I passionately nominate Karli Scheler for the Daisy Award for her above-and-beyond nurturing of our daughter, B. Every single doctor and nurse that we encountered on our stressful 1 1/2 month journey through the CHOP NICU system was caring, knowledgeable, and offered us comfort during a challenging time; despite this consistent level of professionalism and care, there was still one nurse who unequivocally stood out above all for both my wife and me, and that was Karli.
The reasons are simple in nature yet uncommon and significantly differentiating. It all boils down to Karli's unique degree of empathy for not only the child but also the parents and how she puts that empathy into practice. It started with small, loving touches: on B's first day at the King of Prussia campus, with my wife and I feeling hopeful but still reeling from the events of the past two weeks where we didn't know if we'd lose our daughter, Karli took the time to paint her door with her name, take special pictures of her, and write a note on the whiteboard to make sure that "Mom sees her pictures!" The nurse the next day proceeded to tell us how Karli was exceptionally loving to B and had a great time with her overnight. Every time that Karli was B's nurse thereafter, she would get dressed in cute outfits and bows, cuddled a little bit longer, and our absolute favorite: Karli would routinely leave hand-written notes to us on the AngelEye camera as if B wrote them for us. Better yet, she used these notes to announce important milestones to us, like when B got her feeding tube out, finished her bottle for the first time, and then her second bottle, and third - Karli would keep crossing out the note in marker and updating it for us, knowing that we were waking up in the middle of the night to watch the camera and keep an eye on our girl. This sense of humor lifted us up so much and helped us stay positive through all of B's setbacks when it was so either to do otherwise. When we called Karli every morning to debrief before she signed out for the day, she was always high-energy and happy despite having finished an overnight shift and providing us with a wealth of information and updates. We looked forward to talking to her in the morning and would sometimes wake up early to do so, as it made us feel more assured as we started our day.
These seemingly small gestures go well beyond standard medical care and gave my wife and me a much-needed sense of comfort that B was being loved, not just cared for, as we dealt with the guilt of not being able to physically be there for our daughter every minute of the day. We discussed doing something special for Karli as a "Thank you" even before we knew the DAISY Award existed. Once we learned of the award, we knew that we had to nominate her.
The reasons are simple in nature yet uncommon and significantly differentiating. It all boils down to Karli's unique degree of empathy for not only the child but also the parents and how she puts that empathy into practice. It started with small, loving touches: on B's first day at the King of Prussia campus, with my wife and I feeling hopeful but still reeling from the events of the past two weeks where we didn't know if we'd lose our daughter, Karli took the time to paint her door with her name, take special pictures of her, and write a note on the whiteboard to make sure that "Mom sees her pictures!" The nurse the next day proceeded to tell us how Karli was exceptionally loving to B and had a great time with her overnight. Every time that Karli was B's nurse thereafter, she would get dressed in cute outfits and bows, cuddled a little bit longer, and our absolute favorite: Karli would routinely leave hand-written notes to us on the AngelEye camera as if B wrote them for us. Better yet, she used these notes to announce important milestones to us, like when B got her feeding tube out, finished her bottle for the first time, and then her second bottle, and third - Karli would keep crossing out the note in marker and updating it for us, knowing that we were waking up in the middle of the night to watch the camera and keep an eye on our girl. This sense of humor lifted us up so much and helped us stay positive through all of B's setbacks when it was so either to do otherwise. When we called Karli every morning to debrief before she signed out for the day, she was always high-energy and happy despite having finished an overnight shift and providing us with a wealth of information and updates. We looked forward to talking to her in the morning and would sometimes wake up early to do so, as it made us feel more assured as we started our day.
These seemingly small gestures go well beyond standard medical care and gave my wife and me a much-needed sense of comfort that B was being loved, not just cared for, as we dealt with the guilt of not being able to physically be there for our daughter every minute of the day. We discussed doing something special for Karli as a "Thank you" even before we knew the DAISY Award existed. Once we learned of the award, we knew that we had to nominate her.