Recently, Pod 5 operated on a pediatric patient for a little over 15 hours. As you could imagine, waiting 15 hours for your loved one to come out of surgery makes for a long day, maybe even the "Longest Day." Kathy Draege,RN checked on the family throughout the entire day. She helped them get from Barnes over to Children's after hours to ensure there would be no trouble with security.

The most compassion was spent taking pictures of Mannie and Bun Bun. The patient had two stuffed animals with him, a bunny named Bun Bun, and a manatee named Mannie. The family had been taking pictures of the animals throughout each step of their loved one's day. Kathy helped get pictures of the animals with the surgeon and a few different pictures in the OR. The family took the pictures and made a story book called "The Longest Day." Mannie and Bun Bun had a long day until they could be reunited with their best friend, our patient.

Kathy took time out of her busy day to show extra compassion by helping the family get pictures in our restricted area. The family signed a copy of the book and gave it to our Pod. It is a special moment for the OR nurse to be able to really connect with patient families due to our restricted space.

Kathy made it a happy "Longest Day".