Shelby Skiles, who was staying at Children’s Medical Center Dallas with her 2-year-old daughter, began writing one recent night when she was having problems going asleep.
Skiles, 28, has spent practically every night since May in the hospital after learning that her only child, Sophie, has a severe form of T-cell lymphoma.
Skiles estimates that she and her husband Jonathan have interacted with hundreds of nurses during Sophie’s rehabilitation.
Chemotherapy administered to the child 15 times helped contain the cancer’s spread. Currently, he is awaiting a stem cell transplant.
However, due to the rigorous chemotherapy, Sophie was unable to walk, talk, or feed herself.
When asked about the night this month that she started writing, Skiles recalled, “It was like 3 a.m. and I was lying on that horrible couch in the hospital room and I couldn’t go to sleep.”
I merely started logging the nurses’ efforts, and it just kept continuing.
The list included more than just routine checkups.
Skiles noted all the things I’ve seen them do for us and for others, like the nurse who sat on the floor with me when I had a panic attack following the diagnosis.
She posted her appreciation for the nurses on the “Sophie the Brave” Facebook page that Skiles and her family created for Sophie.
I see you carrying armfuls of goods and medication into one child’s room as your phone rings in your pocket from another child’s room, she remarked. “I observe that you don gloves and a mask, and that you try to keep your voice down at night. I envision you wrapping her firmly in blankets and patting her little, bald head.
The article has now been shared more than 25,000 times.
As Sophie’s page has many fans, Skiles reasoned, “I’ll post this and raise awareness of what happens at a children’s hospital and what nurses do, especially when caring for ill children.”
But, she continued, “the level of attention it’s gotten has utterly shocked me.
The Sophie-related nurses at Children’s Medical Center Dallas also caught wind of the posting.
When asked about Sophie’s care, Susan McCollom, clinical manager of the Pauline Allen Gill Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, said, “I really am so grateful that she did it.”
According to one employee, “Our work is extremely difficult on an emotional, physical, and mental level, and it kind of nailed why we do it and that what we do is not just a job.”
She continued, “I’m very proud of my team, but I’m not surprised because I know that’s what they do every day.”
According to Skiles, Sophie will probably remain at the Dallas hospital until at least the end of January before relocating to a nearby house.
Once the stem cell transplant is complete, Sophie will need to continue her therapy and be near to the hospital for checks.
Skiles stated about the nurses she has met so far, “It’s amazing to watch people put their life on hold and absolutely care for kids that truly, really need it.” Additionally, they look after the parents.
