Molly Mitchell
May 2014
Molly
Mitchell
,
BSN, RN
Pediatric ICU
University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics
Madison
,
WI
United States

 

 

 

Our daughter was brought to the PICU after a surgery. A few days into our stay, our daughter developed some abrasions and ulcerations. It was heart wrenching as her parents to see her deal with such excruciating pain. Our daughter became both angry and frustrated, and she did a great deal of crying, screaming, and was generally uncooperative with everyone who tried to work with her. Molly's superior clinical skills were demonstrated in many ways. She explained the medications she was giving to our daughter, including what they were and why she needed them...she either knew the answer to our questions about our daughter's recovery or else she found the answer for us...she had a keen sense for when doctors were using clinical terms that we wouldn't understand and she asked them to further explain what those terms meant...she always seemed to be waiting in the wings when doctors came to examine our daughter, and she consistently knew the answers to their questions and was able to assist them in any way that they needed in order to help the process go more smoothly...and she was able to sense what our daughter needed even before we knew so that she could help to keep her as comfortable as possible. Molly's extraordinary compassion was visible and evident at all times. Our daughter was in excruciating pain for a while, and it was Molly who came in and said she has put in numerous calls to have our daughter checked, to find out how her pain meds could be adjusted, and to help us feel like we were being proactive with her pain.

Molly was always a reassuring voice in the background, reminding our daughter that her pain would get better but never minimizing anything that our daughter complained about. Molly attended to our daughter as both a patient and a human being. After a particularly difficult night, Molly washed and combed our daughter's hair to help pamper her a bit. Molly was with us for what was our most difficult night in the hospital. Our daughter had gone through days on end of pain, and her dad and I were physically and emotionally exhausted. Molly came and sat with me and talked to me about how difficult it is to see your child in so much pain, and assured me that she would do whatever she could to get help for us. She was true to her word, calling everyone who could help ease our daughter's pain to come do what they could, and when that still provided no relief she was our strength, getting the word out to the specialists that our daughter was continuing to struggle and that we needed a specific plan of action for pain management and we needed to come up with it that same night.

One morning I went to get breakfast and when I returned, Molly was our nurse again. I felt myself literally breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that we had Molly supporting us in any way she could for yet another day. On the night we were to move to general care, Molly was our nurse. The first thing both my husband and I thought about was that we didn't want to leave Molly. I could go on and on, because Molly did so much to help us during our stay in PICU, but I think our daughter said it best when, one night in general care she was in a lot of pain. Our daughter cried and said "I wish Molly was here to help me!" It was at that moment that I knew Molly was not only an extraordinary nurse, but an exceptional person to have in your corner. Thank you so much, Molly!!