November 2006
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Gratitudes
Mary Ellen Pierce, MS, RN
The following letter was sent by Mary Ellen Pierce, MS, RN, to Patricia Hickey, RN, VP, Cardiovascular/Critical Care Services, regarding the care of her niece.
Dear Patricia:
I'm a long time RN here who currently works in Preop Clinic. My 15-year-old stellar athlete of a niece, Amy, was diagnosed with an atrial septal defect, which is a hole in the wall of the heart between the upper two chambers. She had surgery to repair this. Initially, Amy did very well and was nearly out of the ICU when she suffered some unusual, unexpected life-threatening complications that meant she had to return to the operating room that evening.I always knew the nurses here were amazing, but I learned just how amazing as I watched this saga unfold. Everyone was fantastic. They tolerated my presence as well as a steady stream of colleagues coming in to check up on things. My sister, daughter and another one of my nieces also worked here at the time, so they were all coming by. Without exception, everyone was patient and caring, offering explanations to all of us. My niece is extremely intelligent and inquisitive, and everyone was very sensitive to her needs and answered all of her questions.
I tried to keep a list of nurses that took care of Amy, but I'm sure I left some people out, and for that I apologize. I would like to thank nurses Laura Grealish, Nina Simmons, Lauren Belgraier, Maura Carroll, Dot Beke, Tammy Dillon, Mary Rose Grady, Amy Delaney, Amy McCormack and Shannon Cavanaugh. I'd also like to thank doctors John Costello, David Wessel, Emile Bacha, Alfonso Casta, David Fulton, Robert Shamberger and Horacio Padua.
We may never know exactly what happened that caused Amy to go into the OR, but the fact that she's doing so well today speaks to the expertise of your staff. She went right back to playing lacrosse and is currently co-captain of the Natick High Soccer Team. Amy applied to work as a volunteer at Children's, and during a recent family gathering, she solicited DVDs, which she donated to the new Cardiac Cath Lab for patients to watch while they were undergoing diagnostic procedures.
Mary Ellen Pierce, MS, RN
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