Kerri McGinn
May 2024
Kerri
McGinn
,
BSN, RN, CCRN
CICU
Nemours Children's Health
Wilmington
,
DE
United States

 

 

 

If we couldn’t sit with her, Kerri would chart in the room in full isolation PPE so that our daughter was never alone.
My daughter was admitted to Nemours for almost 2 weeks. For the last days of her life, Kerri was her nurse. I have never experienced the quality and compassion that Kerri provided. She spoke to my daughter during every procedure that was performed. She sat with me during meetings, discussing plans for my daughter’s life and her death. Anytime my husband and I or a family member would buzz into the cardiac unit to see my daughter, Kerri would make sure that a dressing change or a procedure was complete before we went in to protect us from sites we couldn’t unsee. She provided cloth hearts for us to wear around the hospital and would place them on our daughter’s chest to make sure she could always smell us with her. She picked out a hat that matched my daughter’s eyes to cover her cranial incision. She sifted through accessories to find a headband to put on her beanie. She looked for flowers that resembled roses to match my daughter’s name. When we moved to a private room, instead of just covering a window with privacy paper, she asked for our favorite nickname for her and made a sign with it. When we were overcome with grief or so exhausted with the weight of the decisions we had to make for our daughter, Kerri assured us that she was in safe hands. If we couldn’t sit with her, Kerri would chart in the room in full isolation PPE so that our daughter was never alone. She wrote us a letter about what a privilege it was to care for our daughter. It’s hard for me to put into words the impact that Kerri made on us. Not a dose was missed; the slightest sign of discomfort that my daughter showed Kerri was in the room, making sure my daughter was comfortable, warm, and safe. Kerri is a compassionate, kind, and loving nurse who is clinically outstanding. Her care should be an example for every nurse working today. Without her, my daughter's death would not have been as beautiful and dignified as it was.