July 2015
Jillian
Gatchett
,
BSN, RN
Hematology Oncology
Cincinnati Children's
Deerfield Beed
,
FL
United States

 

 

 

Jillian has, from day 1 of C's first bout with Neuroblastoma until now while he fights chemo induced AML, been our Angel! She took on a complete stranger and comforted him in a way that no other nurse had been able to. My son absolutely adores her and our whole family feel exactly the same. She goes above and beyond the call and she is our first choice out of every nurse we've ever had the pleasure of meeting and working with. It always creates a warmth in knowing that she will visit with him just to check on how he is doing even when she isn't on his nursing staff and she makes it a point to visit anytime she can, even when her shift is over before she leaves for home. He loves her and so do we.

She is special to us and a beautiful asset to CCHMC. We consider ourselves lucky to have her join this battle with us and I am so blessed to say she is my son's comfort here when he is in for his treatments. She has a way with him that no other nurse has and for that she so deserves this award and the recognition she so rightly deserves.

We love you Jillian and we are so glad that we have you as C's nurse and we will forever feel like you are a part of our family! You have made this battle a little more bearable and it's always a pleasure to see your smiling face walk through our hospital room door! God bless you for all you do and for just being "you".

Jillian doesn't treat my son like just a kid who's in for treatment....she treats him as her own. She takes her time with him, shows true patience when he's fussy and wants to be left alone. He reacts to her as though he has known her his whole life, and basically he has...she's been with him since he was 11 months old and he is now 22 months old. She has taught him and worked with him on new words and she has a way with him that I just can't explain, but it's like the bond I share with him as his mother. He feels safe with her.

She answers our questions and if she can't, then she makes sure someone does! She's timely with all his meds and vitals and respects that sometimes he just wants me to help to make him feel at peace...she is very knowledgeable in what she is doing and she explains every step she takes.

From the first day we were hit with the news of cancer, Jillian has stepped forward and provided C with the peace he needed and the comfort he deserved. While his Dad and I were in with the doctors discussing his care and steps for chemo, Jillian stayed back in the room with Clay. It was then that they bonded and she became a security blanket for him as well as for us. She made sure that he was always alright and that he always had what he needed. She comforted us by being so positive and down to earth. She was that peace we needed at such an unsettling time and C enjoyed having her with him.

Jillian always listens. No matter what it is, compliment or complaint, she listens. If C is having a rough day, she loves and pets on him like he's her own, and when he is having a great day, everything goes from letting him raid her scrub pockets to letting him wear her bracelets. It's the little things that count. She always makes sure that we are in the loop with his care and if there's something that we question, she gets the doc on call so we can present our questions. She always is letting us know what's going on and what's planned for the day right off the bat. She always introduces our shift change nurses to us before she leaves for the day or night and she is extremely thorough with detail. She is amazing...simply amazing! A God send!