My daughter is 6 months old. She started having seizures, so we took her to the Women's and Children's Hospital in Charleston. They had planned to release us without any answers as to why my daughter was having these episodes. My sister had told me about the children's hospital in Morgantown. She comes here a couple of times a month, sometimes with her two boys, who have seizures as well. I requested that the hospital transfer me here instead of sending me home so I can find answers for my little girl. I rode in the ambulance with my daughter to the children's hospital in Morgantown. The very first person who walked into my room the minute I got here was Hope. The minute we got here, she was on task. She made me feel so welcome and explained everything that was about to happen while being admitted.
The process was very confusing until she walked in and explained everything. She told me there were going to be a lot of people in here at first, asking about the same questions, so they can get all of the details of my daughter's condition and history as to why she came here. Shortly after we were admitted, I was at my breaking point. I was on the phone trying to find a place that would take my other three children and my husband and let them stay the night. Because of a mix-up with the Ronald McDonald House, they had nowhere to stay. Hope had walked in. I was extremely upset, very frustrated, and at the end of my rope trying to cope with the stress of everything going on in the moment. She was my calm. I was trying hard to explain to her what was going on. She was calm and acted by offering me a drink, and even as far as comfort ice cream. I know that doesn't sound like much, but in that moment, she de-escalated every stress point that was triggering my being upset. Just by how she handled the situation. She went to grab a drink for me, and she stayed with my daughter while I ran downstairs to hug my other children and my husband.
While I was down there, a lady named Tammy came up behind us and asked if my name was R. I told her yes, and she handed me a piece of paper that gave my husband and my three children a room and a hotel for the night. While she was getting me that drink, Hope had gone to her house manager and was able to calm my worries in such an incredible way. She made a connection with someone who gave my family a place to stay the night while we were struggling to navigate my daughter's health. The next day, she worked once more. I have never met someone in the nursing field who has gone above and beyond like I have watched her do. Every time a procedure was being done on my daughter, and she was there, she would look up and see the expression on my face, walk over to me, and start explaining exactly what was happening. This may not be something that is so big to most people. This, however, meant the world to someone who has been struggling with postpartum depression, as well as facing eviction, and stressed because their little girl is having something that no one has answers for. Hope, from what I can tell, works harder than I have seen any other nurse do. She has a very rare talent for calming a very nervous parent and making sure their emotional needs, as well as their child’s physical needs, are a priority.