Jamie Cady
August 2020
Jamie
Cady
,
RN
Burn/Trauma Unit
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
Iowa City
,
IA
United States

 

 

 

My young daughter was burned very badly in several places earlier this year, and it required a 15-day stay in the hospital. This was the most heartbreaking experience of my life and I felt so helpless, in terms of easing my daughter's pain and brightening her spirits.
On the second day, at 7 am, Nurse Jamie arrived, and within hours my daughter was smiling again for the first time since the accident took place. My daughter was instantly drawn to Jamie, due to her wonderful personality and ability to speak directly to children so well. We felt so helpless as parents throughout the first several days in the hospital, and Jamie brought something to our daughter that we had been unable to at that point: smiles. In the case of a burn victim, especially a child, going through very tough pain and scary procedures daily, those smiles felt like the most important thing in the world to us!
Every nurse and doctor did a fantastic job in terms of care, but seeing my daughter light up every time Jamie walked into the room was absolutely priceless to us. Throughout the two weeks, every day was a great day for our daughter when Jamie was our nurse. Jamie came in many times when no physical care was needed, to braid her hair, talk to her about sports or her millions of stuffed animals, our dog at home, or just say 'hi' and give her a hug.
The night we were discharged, our daughter was hoping we wouldn't be because she knew Jamie would be her nurse the following day. Jamie has been a continuous topic at home and even called my daughter after discharge to say 'hi' and check on her, with the same result every time: she lights up and smiles from ear to ear. Jamie will forever be in our hearts. We could not be more thankful for nurses like Jamie, who gave us so many good days during the toughest time of our daughter's life.