My Nurses

I often find it hard to see the bright side in my life when so much of it is spent in pain and in the hospital. But I know one great thing that has made up for being so sick, and that is my nurses. The nurses at the children’s hospital that I go to are some of the nicest, most thoughtful, and fun people I know. They have cheered me up when I felt sad, encouraged me to keep fighting, checked on me after important appointments, and much more.

One thing that I can always count on when I am admitted to the hospital or am getting a saline infusion is that I will get a visit from my favorite nurses. When I have saline infusions, they always call the IV team ahead of my appointment so that I can get my IV placed right away. Then they often come and sit in my room with me and catch up. I get to share an update about my life with them, and it is so nice to have someone to talk to during my long infusions. They also often come to visit me on other floors when I am admitted. All of my favorite nurses work on the same floor, where the infusion room is, but I am often admitted on different floors. But this doesn’t stop them from coming to visit. As soon as they find out what room I am in and have a break, they are up in my room checking on me. Sometimes they come during the day, but most often they come after their shift is over. This means that they are no longer getting paid for their time but are still at the hospital talking to me. One night when my mom was not able to be in the hospital with me, three of my favorite nurses came up to visit. We talked, laughed, and watched TV until 9:45 at night, meaning they had been in my room for nearly three hours while they waited for my mom to get back. Their visit took my mind off of my pain and made being in the hospital tolerable.  It was the most I had laughed in a long time. One of my nurses also spent her break playing bingo with me when my mom couldn’t be at the hospital. Every Wednesday, the hospital has a big bingo game for all of the kids that is broadcasted on the TV. I didn’t want to play alone, and when my nurse heard that I didn’t want to play by myself, she spent her break playing with me. We laughed the whole time and had a great time playing together. It was another memory that has stuck with me from all of my time in the hospital.

Another special memory I have with my nurses was my 18^th birthday. I had a saline infusion that day and they wanted to make it special. When I got there, a nurse met me in the hallway and walked me back to the infusion room. That is when 10 of my favorite nurses jumped out of one of the rooms and yelled happy birthday. I walked into the room to see all of them and that is when I noticed the room was completely decorated. They blew up gloves to look like balloons, made streamers for the doorway, made signs for the window, and even decorated my IV pole and saline bag. I smiled my entire infusion. I was having the worst birthday ever, but they made it so much better.

They also decorated my room when I was admitted during a big UNC basketball game. I was admitted for post-surgical complications and was so sad to be back in the hospital, where I couldn’t watch the game with my family. But they made the night extra special for me once again. Once I found out I would have to stay in the hospital for another night, I was moved into a different room. As I was wheeled into my new room, I noticed blue streamers hanging in the doorway. They had put up blue streamers all over the room and made signs for the windows and walls. They were in and out of my room cheering for UNC with me all night. They turned a sad and disappointing day into a night that I was able to enjoy.

My favorite nurses also went above and beyond when I had my surgery. My big open abdominal surgery was 2 hours away from home, in Winston Salem. But this didn’t stop my nurses from visiting. They drove all the way to the hospital where I was admitted, brought me a special drink and a big basket of gifts, and visited with me. Having a surgery away from the hospital where I was used to be admitted was scary for me, but they made me feel like I was back at home. Once again, they distracted me from my surgical pain and helped to motivate me to do my physical therapy by walking around my floor with me. Their visit and gifts made me feel so special and happy during one of the hardest weeks of my life.

Overall, being in the hospital as frequently as I have been in the past year is no fun and can make it really hard to find good memories, but with the nurses I have had, the hospital can also be a place of happiness and laughter. I will never forget the kindness that my nurses have shown me and the special memories that they have created. These memories will stick with me and will influence how I treat patients in the future as a healthcare provider.