The American Nurses Association calls this week National Nurses Week. We call it about time to recognize people with a passion for the profession.
Throughout the year, we record stories of families whose experiences at Cincinnati Children’s have been life-altering. Nurses often play a big role in those stories. Here are seven that will touch your heart:
Calling spans generations
Deborah Colina was visiting her premature granddaughter at Cincinnati Children’s when she made a remarkable discovery. Her granddaughter’s nurse, Angie Barnett, had also been Colina’s daughter’s nurse decades earlier. Watch the video.
Family care, not just patient care
The Stanton family remembers the first nurse their son ever had. Gabriel Stanton was born with a heart condition, and Joy Neading-Rucker comforted not only Gabriel but both of his parents — even over the phone when Hollee Stanton called for updates from another hospital. Watch the video.
55 days with Robby
When Robby Dumford’s family showed up last fall at Cincinnati Walks for Kids, the hospital’s biggest fundraiser of the year, Robby’s nurse, Jessica Raglin, was right by their side. She had been one of Robby’s biggest cheerleaders since he was delivered, underwent surgery for a birth defect and even after he was strong enough to go home. She’s like part of the family. Watch the video.
From cancer care to Camp Joy
Nurse Linda Polman has known Callie Talbot ever since Callie was a child diagnosed with a tongue-twister of a disease: rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer of connective tissues. Even after Callie pulled through, they stayed connected through a summer camp for cancer patients. Polman is camp nurse, and Callie was a junior counselor last summer. Watch the video.
‘She’s the best nurse you could get’
Nurse Jackie Thompson has a drawing by her desk that always reminds her of Cameron Noe, a 9-year-old hemophilia patient. It says, “fine as frog hair.” If you knew Cameron, a funny, self-proclaimed country boy who wants to be a rancher/hematologist someday, you could imagine him saying it. Thompson says kids like Cameron are the reason she does what she does. Watch the video.
Mallory and Angie: back to back
Meeting nurse Angie Strader is an unforgettable experience for girls like Mallory Hopper. They bond over talking about things like scars and strapless dresses. They both had spine surgery at the same age with the same surgeon. Watch the video.
‘I’m going to be a hematology nurse’
When she grows up, Bailey Walker, a grade-schooler who has lymphoma, says she wants to be a hematology nurse. Just like nurse Jill Koeberlein. Watch the video.
These stories are just a sampling of the way nurses at Cincinnati Children’s make a difference every day. If you have a story to share for our Tell Me a Story series, email us at tellmeastory@cchmc.org
While my newborn daughter was on the cardiac floor, I can’t complain about any of the nurses. That hospital truly has angels working for them. Not only did they act as though my daughter was their own child, they cared for myself and my husband. All the nurses who work on the cardiac floor have a special place in Heaven waiting for them.