Our special Pattys

Angel

Evan and Patty F. Jan. 2006

I got on the shuttle the other day at work (it goes from the parking garage to the hospital-it was way too humid to walk) and I see Patty G. We talked a bit and it got me thinking about the first time I met her. Patty was the 1st special Patty to come into our lives after Evan was born. At the time, she worked for Interim Healthcare and she was a homecare nurse who made visits post-discharge. She wasn't someone that provided nursing care for us but she came every few days for the first couple weeks to check his weight and make sure his trach and g-tube site looked okay. We brought Evan home about 11:30 or so and Patty was at our door that afternoon. I'm sure Mike and I looked like deers in a headlight as we sat on the bed in the nursery/hospital room and talked with her that first day. I'll never forget that first meeting. She not only directed me to tracheostomy.com (which became my lifeline and as a result of connecting to that site, I have made some life long friends) but she also reassured us. She knew how scared we were to have him home but she made us feel that we COULD do it-we COULD care for this little 5 lb. baby who was so, so fragile. She shared with us Welcome to Holland, something all parents of special needs kids know. I think she only came maybe for a couple weeks as an Interim nurse BUT she stayed in our lives much longer than that. She offered to watch him on my first Mother's Day so that I could go to church. She offered to watch him one night in June so that Mike and I could go out for dinner and a movie. She never wanted money-she did this out of the goodness of her heart. She directed me to a ministry at her church that had a moms group for mothers of children w/special needs/medical issues, something I so desperately needed at that time in my life. Here's something really crazy, she even made a home visit as a nurse to my mom and dad's house when he was sick. It was one of those, wait, I know you situations and I think she saw a picture of Evan too. Anyhow, we've been in and out of touch over the years and believe it or not, she now works at Nationwide Childrens in the neonatal clinic! We were brought together all those years ago and who would of thought we'd now both be working w/NICU families at the hospital.

Patty F. I honestly don't know where we would of been without Patty F. About a month after Evan had been home, we had finally been approved for some nursing hours courtesy of our county board of MRDD (had to wait 18 months to be approved for Medicaid, something that doesn't happen now for a trach baby). Anyhow, while it was the agency's job to send potential nurses to us, it was MY job to make sure I picked someone I could trust and that could truly care for my baby. Many talked the talk about being able to care for a trach and feeding tube but could not walk the walk. Talk about alot of responsibility. Patty was the first and last nurse I interviewed. She came into our home and I knew she was the one. She went to nursing school later in life and you could tell she had a passion for it. Her last client had been a little girl who passed away on the same day Evan came home from the hospital. At that time, Patty didn't think she wanted another case for a long time. The agency told her about us, about Evan and she decided to go ahead and come to our home to meet me. She was kind, she was gentle and oh so caring. I had heard horror stories about home nurses and was terrified to have someone come into my home although I knew I needed some help or else I would of lost it! She started on April 16th, 2001 and stayed with us until the end of August 2003. Evan's trach came out in May 2003 and Medicaid wanted to yank our nursing care at that time but I fought to keep her over the summer JUST IN CASE. It seems alot longer that she was with us now that I think about it! Patty came only about 20 hours a week or so but boy, did I look forward to her being there. Not only so I could shower and go grocery shopping but so I could have someone to talk to. Other than Mike, she was sometimes the only adult I would have contact with in any given week. We got to know each other very well very quickly and she became my confidante; she became my friend. We laughed together, we cried together. She made the trip to Cincinnati to see Evan when he was in the ICU after his airway reconstruction surgery, she got to know my family, she came to Evan's birthday parties. I needed her as much as Evan needed her. On her last day with us, we exchanged gifts. I gave her a Willow Tree angel and she gave us the little boy angel in the picture above. That shelf was right above Evan's bed at the time so he watched over Evan for years. It's still in his room, although not above his head anymore but I will make sure it remains there forever.