Merry Christmas Hospital Staff

I would like to wish the hospital staff around the world a very Merry Christmas and a new year filled with happiness and motivation to keep saving lives!

Thank you so much to all of the EMT's, firemen, nurses, techs, phlebotomists, social workers, patient advocates, doctors, cleaning staff, receptionists, and security guards who choose to work and be there, in a place we don't get to choose to be.

Illnesses don't know it's Christmas, our lives are unpredictable, and we can't always count on family and friends to be there with us through the constant ups and downs.

A special thanks to the nurses, techs, and doctors who are nice to us, patient, gentle, and empathetic to the reality of what we are going through, and speak to us as the intelligent, experienced, adults that we are. Who genuinely understand the pain of what we are going through is not a choice. Who appreciate and respect that we are frequent patients and know the routines, and exactly what we need and want and love this about us instead of see it as a challenge or competition. Finally, a special thanks to those who genuinely care and want to help us by providing an overall positive experience to aid us in our healing.

Below I share a few suggestions on how to help us, as adult patients, have a better experience:

Aiding us in our healing is in the little things. To smile, hold our hands, feed us, give us medicine, talk to us like friends instead of children, be positive, and be there with us through the days we wish we were at home with our families too.

We never know who is taking care of us, if they are going to be nice to us, or if they are going to respect the fragility of our health and take care of us as an individual based on our individual needs. Unfortunately, not everyone gets to be home on the holidays with their families, and hospital staff really do have the power to make this a positive experience during a painful time for patients and families.

Hospital Staff - Thank you for being the fill-in best friends, moms, dads, siblings and loved ones when they can't be there every minute of every day.

Please know that you are appreciated, especially during the Holidays!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from CHD Legacy to the people who help keep us going have fun while doing it! <3

-Stephanie Romer

HLHS, 1985