My 22-month-old son, unfortunately, had to spend a day and a half at WMMC. Fortunately, we received great care and had some of the best nurses. Our day nurse, Rachel, stood out so much that my husband, my parents, and I were still talking about how great she was the day after discharge.
During every interaction, Rachel did nothing but try to build a relationship of trust with my son, who was very hard to please. She did everything she could to show him that the stethoscope was harmless, including letting him play with it. She even listened to his stuffed animals to show that it was okay. He kept pulling his IV so she had to come fix it. My son was often wary of her, but she always had a reassuring tone, was gentle, and talked to him throughout whatever she was doing. She never showed any signs of impatience, it was truly extraordinary.
If her superhuman patience and compassion weren't enough, she also very kindly and professionally answered all of my father's questions (what caused this? When will he get better?) that she couldn't know answers to. She gave him all the information she had and spent a lot of time answering his questions. This wasn't just the way she treated us, anytime her phone rang, she never sounded bothered or stressed. She went above and beyond and was so kind and genuine. She answered all our questions before discharge and made the process very smooth. She left a memorable impact on us and we cannot thank her enough.