Cynthia has had a profound impact on the lives of my whole family in the very short time that we have known her. My daughter R was conceived via IVF. At a routine (for IVF patients) fetal echocardiogram we found out that R had several congenital heart defects and was going to need a major surgery before her 1st birthday. After countless doctor’s appointments and one heart surgery (pulmonary artery banding) with a 6 day stay in the CVICU we found ourselves back here for R’s complete repair of her large VSD and several small VSDs. The surgery went very well, but R came out of surgery in complete heart block. We were warned this might happen. But nevertheless, we were very worried when we saw her after surgery with the many tubes and wires, several of which led to her temporary pacemaker.

Days later, R’s heart started acting a bit funky. Several of the doctors thought that perhaps conduction was returning, several were unsure. Around 6 pm R’s heart rate rose to 200bpm. The doctors and nursing team worked quickly to try and diagnose the arrhythmias she was experiencing. As part of this process, R was administered a drug to help determine exactly what was going on with her heart. Unfortunately, R had an abnormal reaction and the drug kicked in later than expected and for longer than intended. R coded and the incredible care team was able to bring her back safely within 30 seconds. That was hands down the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced, my entire world exploded for a few moments there - I thought I had lost my baby.

ENTER CYNTHIA… R coded at 6:32 pm. Cynthia had shown up early for her night shift and was assigned to R. She immediately went into action and relieved the nurse that had been working tirelessly all day. Cynthia stepped in and began consoling R. She found toys and her blanket to comfort her and started to make a plan with the doctors. Shift change is typically a quiet time for patients while nurses give report and hand off notes from the day. This was not a quiet time for anyone as R was not yet stable. Cynthia had just returned from being off of work for a period of time and dove headfirst into a chaotic situation with grace. To add insult to injury my husband was not there at the time that my daughter coded and when he arrived at the hospital amidst the chaos he did not handle his emotions appropriately and he was asked to step away for the night so everyone could focus on R. I was left extremely upset and alone. But I was not alone, little did I know I had the best nurse who was going to take the best care of me and my daughter and ensure that we were safe, informed, and had everything we needed. Cynthia quickly spoke with the charge nurse and had us moved to a different room that would be easier for the team to see us and access R’s bedside in the event of an emergency. She helped me to move all of my belongings and watched R every second to give me peace of mind that someone had an eye on her physically (not just on a screen with her metrics). 99% of the time watching the screen is all that is needed, but after R coded I wanted someone in the room with us physically watching her all night. She didn’t complain or even question this. She spoke with the shift lead and arranged to have my mom allowed in for the night so that I didn’t have to be alone. She brought me snacks, water, and fresh linens and made me promise that once my mom arrived I would try to get some rest. Cynthia took the time to explain to me exactly what had happened to R and talked through any questions I might want to ask during rounds that night. She showed the highest level of concern, care, and (honestly it felt like genuine love) love for my child. A child she had never met before. Cynthia was only assigned to us that night and she quite literally stood watch over R in the room with us the entire night.

My mom is in her late 60s and has her masters in nursing education from Columbia. She was blown away by Cynthia and told me that she was one of the best nurses that she had met in a very long time. To be fair, the entire CVICU unit is full of an incredible team… it was tough to choose just one nurse to nominate. However, Cynthia helped me in more ways than I can count on the scariest night of my life. She continued to act this way for the following shifts.

A week later on our last night before discharge, she came to say goodbye to R. I could tell that she genuinely cared for us and wants nothing but the best for us. We may have been just another patient, but we did not feel that way - not even for one second. 18 days after a complicated open-heart surgery we are preparing to discharge pacemaker free. I truly feel that my daughter would not be thriving in the way that she currently is if Cynthia had not been assigned to us that night. Cynthia demonstrated every great quality that a nurse should have and despite the facemasks, I know that she did it with a smile on her face and love in her heart.