So far in this journey, we have met some amazing people who
have helped take care of Ellie (and us at times). I wanted to do a quick post to acknowledge just a few of the
many people who have touched us with their kindness over the last 18 months.
Dr. Lacayo
Dr. Lacayo is Ellie’s primary doctor and the one who is able
to calm us down when we are worried or have questions about things not going
right. We are so lucky he is the
doctor overseeing Ellie’s care.
Carly
Carly is Ellie’s Nurse Practitioner. While Dr. Lacayo oversees Ellie’s
treatment and is always there for questions, Carly is the one who we see on a
weekly basis. We had two NP’s
before we met Carly. One left
after 3 months to move to another state, and the other after 3 weeks to take
another job. When we first met
Carly, Ellie was at the end of Consolidation and to say I was weary of having a
3rd NP would be an understatement. I was in full momma bear mode and was determined that Ellie
have the best care possible…poor Carly.
She took it all in stride with a smile on her face (including me asking
her if she had any plans to go on maternity leave in the next 2 years…what was
I thinking!!!) Over the last year Carly has always been there for Ellie and
myself. On days when we are
scheduled for just chemo, she almost always stops by just to check in. I know if I email her, I will get a
response that same day if she is at the hospital, which when you have pressing
issues is such a comfort. She is
the most organized person I have ever known and makes sure that Ellie’s
appointments are always scheduled, meds re-ordered etc… And most importantly
she is great with Ellie. Ellie
took to her quite quickly and now when we go to the hospital expects to see
her. Even when Ellie is feeling
bad, she will usually give Carly a smile.
Analisa
Analisa is Ellie’s social worker. She is currently out on maternity leave, and we miss her but
look forward to her coming back.
She is one of those people that always knows the right thing to say or
how to comfort you when you are so scared.
Nurse Kam
I can’t remember when we first met Kam. She works in the day hospital and is
always so genuine. She has knit
two beautiful hats for Ellie. I
always feel completely comfortable and confident when she is taking care of
Ellie that things will go smoothly.
Nurse Jill
I think we met nurse Jill sometime last winter. She has kids close to Timmy and Ellie’s
age and seems to just be able to relate to normal kid stuff as well as the
cancer stuff. There are days when
I go home and tell Jeff we had the “all star team” today and that always means
at least one of the nurses caring for Ellie was Jill or Kam.
Nurse Michelle
Michelle works in the Day Hospital and often also works in the poke and go room where Ellie gets her labs drawn. Michelle is always a cheery face and is an avid swimmer and always talks with us about Ellie and Timmy's progress in their swimming lessons.
Nurse Chiyeko
Thankfully we haven’t had Chieyko care for us for a while as
she works only on the inpatient side.
She cared for Ellie a lot right after diagnosis. I felt like she and I immediately
bonded because she has young twins too.
She is one of those nurses that just seems to know everything. I will never forget when Ellie was
inpatient and pretty sick, and she told me she thought Ellie had C-Diff and
they should test for it. The
resident on our case didn’t think so, and the doctor seemed indifferent, so we
didn’t test for it and sure enough 2 days later they finally tested her and she
had it. Chiekyo also, knows Ellie
loves baby dolls and would always make her fun things for her babies (baby
bottles filled with cotton balls (milk), real diapers for her baby and a bunch
of other creative things).
Nurse Maggie
Maggie took care of Ellie last fall for all of our inpatient
chemo days. I think all the
patients who go over the PEC (the satellite campus of LPCH) love Maggie. She was great with Ellie and again made
me as a mom feel completely confident.
Timmy and Ellie still ask when we are going to Maggie’s hospital to
visit her.
Nurse Stephanie
Stephanie was the first nurse Ellie seemed to really be
comfortable with. She took care of
us right after diagnosis. She was
a travelling nurse, so sadly for us, she moved on to another hospital, but we
still have her picture on our refrigerator and Ellie still remembers her
fondly.
Matiana
Matiana is the medical assistant who takes all the vital
signs. Ellie (and Timmy) have
loved Matiana from the day they met her.
She always has a smile on her face and is so great with all the
kids.
Roger
Roger is part of our welcoming crew (along with the Phuc and
Andrew mentioned below). When you
arrive at the hospital you have to check in and get your sticker with your
photo on it. Roger is always there
bright and early and greets us with a smile. After only seeing him a few weeks, he remembered our names
which to me was amazing considering the 100’s of people who come through those
doors. He also always gives Ellie
her own “fun sticker” and makes sure to send her home with one for Timmy
too.
Phuc and Andrew
Phuc and Andrew are two of the valet car attendants. Since, the hospital started
construction in October 2011, all oncology patients are supposed to utilize the
valet services due to the poor air quality outside the hospital. Phuc and Andrew are always there to
greet us. They know when Timmy is
in the car he gets to carry the “ticket” and when it’s just Ellie she gets
it. Ellie looks forward to seeing
them each time we go to the hospital…and on our most recent trip to the ER, as
we were driving in the middle of the night, she asked if she was going to get
to see Phuc.
There are so many others from the many nurses at both the
day hospital and 1 North, to the front desk people who get us checked in we are
so lucky to be at LPCH surrounded by people who truly care about their jobs and
our daughter.
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