Elijah, 6, shares a long-lasting bond with Cynthia, a nurse in CHOC’s cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU), constructed on belief, compassion and unwavering help.
Greater than Care
When Sabrina and her spouse, Ileana, started their adoption journey, they by no means imagined it could cause them to a hospital room. However that’s the place they met Elijah—simply 4 months previous, within the cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU) at Youngsters’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC).
Elijah had been born with hypoplastic left coronary heart syndrome, a uncommon and sophisticated situation that requires a number of surgical procedures to outlive. He was the half-brother of their daughter, and the second they signed the paperwork, they grew to become a household. What they didn’t count on was that Elijah’s care crew would additionally turn out to be part of that household.
From the very starting, one CHOC CVICU nurse stood out: Cynthia. She grew to become a gentle, acquainted presence; somebody who noticed past diagnoses and therapy plans.
Going through the Fontan process
When Elijah was 3½ years previous, his first try on the Fontan process, a vital surgical procedure for youngsters with hypoplastic left coronary heart syndrome, confronted surprising issues. Elijah spent 42 days within the hospital recovering as his physique struggled to regulate to the modifications.
Throughout that point, Cynthia’s unwavering presence was a supply of consolation and power. She was there by his facet every day, bringing balloons to raise his spirits and providing the light care that made his hospital keep extra bearable.
At 6 years previous, Elijah efficiently underwent the Fontan surgical procedure. This time, the process was accomplished efficiently, and Elijah spent 69 days within the hospital recovering, supported by the identical devoted crew that had been with him each step of the way in which.
Past care
Cynthia’s position in Elijah’s life went past the day-to-day duties of a nurse. She didn’t simply monitor his well being; she cared for him in a means that solely somebody together with her ardour and dedication might.
She learn to him, took him outdoors, and launched him to music remedy, a ardour he nonetheless holds in the present day.
Even when she wasn’t his major nurse, Cynthia made it a degree to test in on Elijah when he was present process the Fontan process. “She would at all times convey him toys, costume him in common garments so he didn’t really feel like only a affected person, and ensure he was by no means alone,” Sabrina mentioned.
This mix of kindness and a focus made Cynthia stand out as a nurse, a mentor and a relentless supply of help for Elijah and his household.
An enduring connection
At 6 years previous, Elijah nonetheless often asks about Cynthia, regardless of not having been within the hospital for a while. He’ll ask his mother and father in the event that they’ve instructed “Mrs. Cynthia” about one thing that occurred, whether or not it’s a fall from his bike or a nasty day in school.
“Their bond has turn out to be one thing far more than a patient-nurse relationship. “We all know they’ll at all times be lifelong associates,” Sabrina says, her voice stuffed with gratitude.
A heartfelt tribute to all nurses
Nationwide Nurses Week is a time to acknowledge the deep connections nurses type with the folks they look after. Cynthia’s story is particular, however not uncommon. Throughout our group, nurses present up day by day with compassion, curiosity, and dedication.
They don’t simply deal with signs. They discover the little issues. They ask the additional questions. They turn out to be trusted faces and acquainted voices for households navigating the unknown.
This week—and each week—we rejoice nurses who remind us of the facility of human connection in medication.
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Study extra about CHOC’s Coronary heart Institute
CHOC Hospital was named one of many nation’s finest kids’s hospitals by U.S. Information & World Report in its 2024-25 Greatest Youngsters’s Hospitals rankings and ranked within the cardiology and coronary heart surgical procedure specialties.