Jenny Terry
January 2025
Jenny
Terry
,
RN
Surgical Neurosciences
Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital
Saint Petersburg
,
FL
United States

 

 

 

I know that caring for this patient on our unit was not always easy for our nurses, yet Jenny made the patient and her family feel like a top priority every time she was their nurse.
I would like to nominate my colleague, Jenny Terry, who has truly stood out to me over the past couple of months in her care of one of our recent long-term patients. While this patient came to us as a previously healthy 17-year-old, they have suffered many brain-altering injuries, resulting in her appearing to be neurologically devastated. She was so acutely ill that she spent time in the PICU, but has spent the majority of her time on 7N. The care I have witnessed over these last couple of months from Jenny has reminded me why we do what we do every day. Not only has this patient suffered a challenging medical course, but she also happens to be new here from Honduras and speaks zero English.
When this patient was transferred back to us from the ICU, Jenny, one of her nurses, happened to be Spanish-speaking. The days turned into weeks and then months, and while all the medical interventions were necessary for the patient, it seemed that an act as simple as speaking to her in her native language was proving to be even more healing. We started to see very little glimmers of hope from the patient, especially when Jenny was caring for her. Her constant movements and neurostorming would slightly calm when Jenny was in the room, speaking to her in her language. The absent look in her eyes became a little less distant when Jenny was caring for her. And we all started to think, "Maybe she's in there somewhere". The days turned into weeks and months, and I watched Jenny receive reports on the patient's progress, often with tears in her eyes, as she was told she was starting to follow simple commands or give the thumbs-up sign. More recently, Jenny had an already heavy assignment on our unit, yet she made time to go into the patient's room and give her a full shower and shampoo. I know that caring for this patient on our unit was not always easy for our nurses, yet Jenny made the patient and her family feel like a top priority every time she was their nurse. I am simply amazed at her genuine love and care for this patient and her well-being. I am proud to work alongside her and feel she is so deserving of this DAISY Award!