Heroes In Scrubs
I am sure you’ve heard the saying, “It takes a village” in reference to life or making it through a tough situation. With Lauren’s battle against a brain tumor, the same adage is true. Part of what I want to explore through this blog series is more about the “village.” I spent a lot of time in the hospital, and I saw firsthand how important the nurses were to Lauren’s care!
When I suggested talking to one of Lauren’s nurses, I don't think I understood how important their jobs were beyond care. My Mom shared that early on the nurses coached my parents on how to cope. She told me about how Lauren would have these terrible weekly dressing changes. It was a special tape that covered a tube called a Hickman catheter. It was used to administer chemo, blood transfusions, and was even used to reintroduce her life-saving bone marrow transplant. Every week, they had to change the dressing and clean it with harsh antiseptic. Lauren would scream and cry. Mom shared that a special nurse, Crystal, grabbed her hand the first time and said “let me be the one that holds Lauren down. I want you to be her comfort.” It made a real impact on my Mom and made a horrible situation a little bit easier for her.
Needless to say, Crystal made a lasting impact on our lives and was one of Lauren’s primary nurses for years. So, I was delighted when Crystal Aiken, who has been a nurse at VCU Medical Center since 1992, agreed to be interviewed.
Preventing Another Tragedy
Similar to how I am inspired by my sister to pursue a career in medicine, a personal experience put Crystal on the path to dedicate her life to helping sick children. Crystal had a tragic experience with her older brother. When Crystal was 18, her older brother unexpectedly passed away. She explained to me how he was often sickly as a child and when he was 10 years old his condition worsened. The doctors detected a heart murmur but overlooked it. They failed to make a critical diagnosis which had fatal implications. “They missed that he had rheumatic fever, which damaged his heart. It was devastating to know his death was totally preventable had they just extended his dose of antibiotics for another two weeks. It was so frustrating to me that I decided I wanted to be a nurse.”
“My goal was to be intuitive and not miss anything. I didn’t want to brush things aside. I never wanted to have another family go through that, something preventable.”
Caring For Childhood Cancer
Later into Crystal’s career, she was offered the opportunity to work in the pediatric oncology clinic with cancer patients. At first, she was hesitant, “I was so worried that I would not be the right fit for that,” she told me, “but after being there for 6 months, getting to know the staff and children, it was hands down the place I wanted to be.”
Her main goal as a medical worker is to be the type of provider that comes in and makes the family feel more comfortable. “When the families come in I read the eyes of the parents,” she said. It is very difficult for newly diagnosed families because they don’t know what is going on.
“People say I’m so sorry you work there and I say, ‘I’m not!’” When I asked how she stays so positive while treating ill children she said, “I honestly feel like I gain it from them. For the most part, I center myself around the patient. No two are alike. They need positivity; if they’re feeling crummy, you can’t be all hunky-dory sunshine, but you can give them the confidence and gumption. If I can get one smile out of them on that day that they look miserable, then I did my job for the day.”
Lasting Impressions
One patient, in particular, left a lasting impression on her career. Years ago, Crystal was assigned to treat a 13-year-old girl in need of a heart transplant. “I’ll never forget, she was very sick. She was intubated and couldn’t talk to us. She didn’t understand anything because her parents said ‘You can’t tell her.’ When a heart became available, I was not allowed to tell her she was going down to the operating room to get a heart transplant. I just had so much anxiety about her just with the fact she didn’t know.” The surgery was successful and the girl was released from the hospital. “I thought about her and prayed for her,” said Crystal but she never knew how her story ended. Years later, that same patient reached out to Crystal to inform her she had gotten married and was a new mom. “It is neat for someone to reach out and find you. I am so grateful for knowing the rest of their stories, I don’t always have the right to know, but I am grateful for when I can.”
Nurse During A Pandemic
Being a nurse during a pandemic has not been easy. The staff has had to make many adjustments to accommodate for their immune-compromised cancer patients. “At the beginning of all of this, I no longer worked in the clinic to avoid the children being exposed to the unknown.” Instead, Crystal would drive to her patients' houses to perform the necessary labs at home. “I had to do 6-7 labs a day all 30 minutes apart. It was a challenge to figure out how to draw labs in low lighting areas and non-sterile environments. But, if it helped the kids, I was all for it.”
Distance Doesn’t Mean Alone
When asked what advice she wants to leave the readers with she said to see people. She clarifies, “I'm not saying go visit people, but people are hurting. Our teenagers are depressed with so much going on and so much lack of human contact. You don't have to be in person, just reach out over the phone or facetime.” As a result of the shutdowns and social distancing guidelines, people have lost sight of human contact. Whether Crystal is walking around the hospital passing a stranger or in a room with a patient, she will go out of her way to make people feel heard and seen. I challenge you to reach out to loved ones, friends, or even smile at a stranger. You never know what someone is going through and what kind of impact a little interaction could have on their mental health.
Call To Action
While hundreds of cancer drugs have been approved for adults, only about 34 have been approved for children by the FDA. “I pray for more treatments. I haven’t had new chemo or new guidelines for pediatrics in so long, and I feel like there isn’t enough research in that area,” expresses Crystal. Childhood cancer does not get enough research or funding. Despite being the second leading cause of death in children ages 1-14, childhood cancer research only receives 4% of the annual budget from the National Cancer Institute.
What Richmond is doing to help the community is building a Wonder Tower on top of the new Children’s Hospital of Richmond. “I hope the new children's hospital has single rooms,” says Aiken. “There is a lot of privacy needed for children with a new diagnosis and children that aren’t feeling well.” There are ways that you can make a difference in these children’s lives. Please consider donating to my fundraiser (link below). All of the profits from this blog will be donated to the building of the new children’s hospital in Richmond.
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