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Nurses Week 2021: Harper's story
May 07, 2021
Nurses Week 2021: Harper's story

    If you have spent at time at our hospital, you know the difference our nurses make.

    We recognize our nurses are the heartbeat of our health system — during Nurses Week — and every week.

    They answer questions, calm fears, and research new and innovative ways to care — all while caring for our patients as if they were their own--that’s why we’re celebrating our nurses with Nurses Week May 6-12!

    Stephanie tells it best. She's spent the last five years in and out of our hospital during her daughter's treatment for hydrocephalus (fluid buildup on the brain):

    nurses week: CHoR patient Harper with RachelI wish I could name every nurse who we have been lucky enough to work with over the years, because they are all so amazing. They take the time to provide exceptional care while also juggling many other responsibilities.

    The first nurse we met in the PICU was Rachel, and her laugh and her smile immediately comforted us and reminded us that we were in great hands. As we continued to come back, Rachel always recognized us, welcomed us, and made us feel so cared for. We also had the pleasure of meeting Peyton, another PICU nurse. She and Harper just clicked, and in the midst of a very uncertain time Harper was able to laugh and play with Peyton. Harper actually turned 3 while in the hospital, and we woke up to a room full of decorations and a bed full of presents given to Harper by the kind and thoughtful nurses of the PICU.

    Michele, a nurse practitioner with the neurosurgery team, has walked this journey with us and has always helped put us at ease. Diane, Harper’s nurse before our very first neurosurgery, was comforting, knowledgeable, and kind and gave my husband and me a well-timed hug as they wheeled Harper away to the OR. I cannot begin to describe what that hug did for us and meant to us at such a difficult and scary time.

    The nurses at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU regularly check on parents and make sure we have what we need to take care of ourselves. They stay in the room after the doctors leave to make sure we understood what was said and comfort us when the news is not good. They help us turn the chair into a bed when we are too bleary-eyed to figure it out ourselves. They focus on telling little patients what they are doing before they do it so they might understand and feel more comfortable. They are heroes who help our children heal, physically and emotionally, and help parents along the journey as well!

    Please join Stephanie in showing your admiration for nurses here and everywhere!

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