My daughter has been seen many times at Urgent Care in Nixa. She has Down syndrome, a heart condition, and a weakened immune system. Needless to say, she has spent her fair share of time in doctors’ offices and has developed significant PTSD related to medical visits. She hates temperature checks, pulse oximeters, blood pressure cuffs, and anything involving her ears. Often, a doctor’s visit can be traumatizing.

On Thursday, my husband and I took our daughter to the Nixa Urgent Care because she had ongoing sinus drainage that just would not go away. We were prepared for her to be extremely upset. However, when Nurse Sherry came into the room, she looked at our daughter and asked if she liked bubbles. Sherry sat down, played with her, and approached her sensitivities with a calmness and kindness we had not experienced before.

Sherry took her time, allowing our daughter to come to her, and did not rush her, whereas we often feel pressured to quickly get vitals done. She was able to take our daughter’s temperature and listen to her heart and lungs with no tears and no struggle, speaking to her gently and turning everything into a game.

Getting an O2 level with a pulse oximeter is always a challenge. It is the thing our daughter dreads most. While she was upset briefly, she calmed quickly and provided the best result she has ever given. I was honestly in shock. So much so that I didn’t have the opportunity to tell Sherry how much that meant to us.

It was incredibly relieving to leave an appointment without feeling drained and stressed, and without our daughter being completely frazzled. I wanted to thank Sherry for being so kind and generous with her time and expertise. We have seen doctors both locally and far away, in many different hospitals and clinics, and this was one of the most positive medical experiences we have ever had.

When our daughter ran out of the clinic afterward, ready to head home for dinner, she was in a great mood, and that means so very much to us.

Please pass along my gratitude to Ms. Sherry. She is truly amazing. You have a wonderfully kind, patient, and empathetic employee in her, and I wanted to take the time to recognize her as she deserves.