February 2013
Cheryl
Hill
,
RN
PICU
Advocate Children's Hospital
Oak Lawn
,
IL
United States

 

 

 

Cheryl is the type of nurse that exemplifies compassion and excellence in her field. She is often called upon to care for patients and families with extremely delicate situations, because her caring nature offers comfort in times of despair.
Recently, Cheryl accepted a special challenge: to care for the child of a co-worker. It is difficult to watch families suffer, especially when a prognosis is poor, but when it happens to someone you know it can be absolutely heart-breaking. This never deterred Cheryl from taking this assignment and providing her very best care to this child for the next few months. During this time, Cheryl was a true advocate for the patient and family. She helped the patient's mom voice concerns when she had questions regarding her child's treatments. She attended staffings with the family and the patient's team of doctors in order to understand the plan and help explain it to the family.
She helped this family hold it together when so many times they felt like they were falling apart. Cheryl was always up to date on this child's plan of care and made sure that all of her caregivers were too. She even started a cookbook fundraiser for the patient's family to help with their medical expenses. The family was very appreciative to have Cheryl care for their child. They requested her day after day and thanked her constantly for being such an angel. When this child passed away, Cheryl comforted the family and helped them to grieve. The patient's dad referred to her as "a second mom," and said that they would never forget how she cared for them all. Cheryl offers an admirable style of nursing that makes it an honor and a pleasure to work with her.