Noel Barnhill
October 2024
Noel
Barnhill
,
BSN, RN
3NW/CSU
Primary Children's Hospital Salt Lake- Intermountain Health
Salt Lake City
,
UT
United States
Noel’s advocacy protected my daughter from an unnecessary procedure. She listened to her patient. A small but mighty voice still deserves to be heard, and Noel listened. She deserves most of the praise for that.
My three-year-old daughter has just had major hip surgery. Her IV wasn’t being used anymore because it was hurting her badly even though it was technically still an open and good IV. My three-year-old is also vocal and speaks for herself clearly, and Noel listened to her. Not only did she ensure all her meds were moved to oral, but we also got her fluid intake stable and kept her monitored. The residents who had not seen her kept insisting V, my daughter, needed a new IV anyway. I did not want any unnecessary trauma or stress. And V told Noel no, no thank you. I do not want that. And Noel advocated for her. And we worked together to resolve and respect my child’s rights and needs. We never used the IV again, and it wasn’t needed. Noel’s advocacy protected my daughter from an unnecessary procedure. She listened to her patient. A small but mighty voice still deserves to be heard, and Noel listened. She deserves most of the praise for that.
***
First of all, my daughter was able to relax knowing she was not going to be getting a new IV. She may be only three, but she is advanced on that spectrum of things and was panicked she was going to be stabbed with a needle again. Noel asked her, not me, what she needed and wanted. The impact of that meant V trusted her nurse to care for her. She told Noel her true pain levels, true feelings about the spica cast, and more. When the IV had not been used for almost a whole day and they still wanted a new one, Noel really advocated for V to remain without a new IV. And remove the old one. She was able to get the old one out, sleep peacefully, and trust the nurses to listen to her.
I have always advocated that my daughters tell people themselves how they feel. I was worried during this very scary process that my sweet tiny tot's voice would get lost in the mix of medical jargon. Noel made sure she leaned in close to that voice and really listened. She reaffirmed those wishes with her parents always and discussed all options with Viola and her parents. But always with Viola, and her advocacy was above and beyond. I couldn’t thank her enough before her shift was over. And if I could request her for our next hip surgery in November, I would. She eased every fear and worry a mother had in those hard moments.
***
First of all, my daughter was able to relax knowing she was not going to be getting a new IV. She may be only three, but she is advanced on that spectrum of things and was panicked she was going to be stabbed with a needle again. Noel asked her, not me, what she needed and wanted. The impact of that meant V trusted her nurse to care for her. She told Noel her true pain levels, true feelings about the spica cast, and more. When the IV had not been used for almost a whole day and they still wanted a new one, Noel really advocated for V to remain without a new IV. And remove the old one. She was able to get the old one out, sleep peacefully, and trust the nurses to listen to her.
I have always advocated that my daughters tell people themselves how they feel. I was worried during this very scary process that my sweet tiny tot's voice would get lost in the mix of medical jargon. Noel made sure she leaned in close to that voice and really listened. She reaffirmed those wishes with her parents always and discussed all options with Viola and her parents. But always with Viola, and her advocacy was above and beyond. I couldn’t thank her enough before her shift was over. And if I could request her for our next hip surgery in November, I would. She eased every fear and worry a mother had in those hard moments.