I was a patient recovering from a cesarean section delivery of my daughter. Karla Renderos was my nurse in post-partum recovery the day I was told that my day-old newborn had cancer. It was the worst day of my life, by far, when I was supposed to be overjoyed with the birth of a new child. Karla was sensitive, kind, and empathetic in her care of us. I was utterly broken, and she cared for us in a way that didn't feel forced, inauthentic, or disingenuous. From the moment of our child's diagnosis, she made sure we weren't disturbed by any of the common postpartum care drop-in visits. I didn't realize she had routed all of our care visits to first see her until it had been a few hours, and no one came by, and I was relieved because I would not have been able to speak to anyone at that point. 

Karla also worked with the floor leader and multiple other nurses to urgently track down and save my umbilical cord to send for preservation should my daughter need it. This team coordinated with labor and delivery and the preservation service to make sure that the materials were all sent off as soon as humanly possible to the driver who made a special trip for us. Karla didn't try to give me platitudes or force cheer. In some ways, it felt like she was grieving with us because, where most strangers would try to cheer us up, she held space for us to be broken and allowed that grieving to happen, while caring for our physical needs. 

Inova can teach and create metrics for efficiencies, but you cannot teach and measure empathy. Karla's empathy was one of the most memorable aspects of my recollection of that day. I would love for her to know that our daughter is doing so well! Her oncologist and her pediatrician are both very pleased with our child's growth. She is an active girl, an amazing sleeper, and so, so tall! Her two big sisters love making her smile, and even share their toys - very impressive for a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old. After much testing, her neuroblastoma has been graded as low risk, and while she may need some chemotherapy, her doctors are confident that her tumors can be resected, and she should hopefully live a very normal life. I will always remember Karla being there to hold us together after our world shattered, and will always have deep gratitude for her care in the worst time of my life.