Our son, who is 11, was admitted with a rapid onset and escalating OCD, loss of normal functioning, such as eating and talking, and he was at times entirely depressed or aggressive. In other words, he was in terrible shape. This rapid escalation of symptoms occurred over just four months - it was truly very scary for our son, and a nightmare for us parents. He was often distraught and felt entirely out of control. He was later diagnosed with PANDAS.

He'd been in the hospital for a week by this evening, and he'd had three separate IVs due to wear out. Javi built a very caring relationship with our son, which made a huge difference in his experience. He was wonderful at making him feel good and earning his trust, despite being in such a miserable state. After his first night of infusions, it was initially suspected that he needed yet another, a fourth IV started because he'd experienced some burning in the IV with a particular medication. Our son was so sick of needles at that point, and we were trying to think of how to incentivize him to get one, as he flat out refused. He'd said at one point that he didn't feel safe at the hospital because people kept sticking him with needles.

When Javi came on that night, we'd been waiting for five or six hours for the IV. Our son had already yelled out during the IV med administration earlier that afternoon, as it was a pre-med for the infusion, and that's when they determined he probably needed a new IV before the 4-hour infusion started. It had been so long that he would need another painful dose. Javi looked at him, a child who, due to his condition, had not slept well in months, who was struggling with periodic compulsions and bouts of total desperation, and was truly scared of what was to come next, and he said, "Look, I want to avoid this fourth IV."

He reminded me that the intravenous medication had burned the night before, the first time he took it, too, and he thought he could flush the IV, ensure it was working properly, and our son could take the medication through his NG tube instead. He said I don't want to stick you with another needle if we don't have to. He didn't want to put him through it again unless absolutely necessary.

The IV worked fine - he took the medicine via tube instead, and he not only avoided a fourth IV, but also the painful medication altogether. Our son was so relieved, and I was so thankful that Javi took a moment to think about whether what was ordered was truly the best solution, and he had our son's comfort and emotional health top of mind. He found another way to make it work. It wasn't that the new IV was wrong - from what I understand, it was a logical conclusion, but sometimes with so many caregivers, the details can get shuffled. Perhaps that reaction to the medication is unusual.

Having Javi for two nights in a row helped with the continuity of care, and in this case, his attention to detail and care for our son's comfort made all the difference. After that, our son had a special relationship with Javi, and even when he wasn't our nurse, he'd check in on him and made him feel like patient number one. We're grateful the kids at Doernbecher have such amazing nurses to make a difference in their care.