This girl suffered from Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a neuromuscular disease that renders her dependent on a ventilator to help her breathe and limits her ability to move anything but her arms. One would think that her cries were about something more critical. Perhaps a little frustration at the device inserted into her nose that sent pressure to her lungs. Or maybe some discomfort with the feeding tube that was surgically placed in her stomach. But her greatest grievance? The terrifying possibility that Elmo, while she was preoccupied with the mantras of Yo Gabba Gabba on Nick Junior, had been abducted from her bed.



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It was only after countless moments like these that I understood an aspect of pediatric nursing that sometimes gets lost amidst the chaos of my work environment. I am a nurse in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, and our patients, who range from newborns to 21 year-olds, have conditions that are life-threatening. Because we often see the most complex and extreme conditions, we have to remind ourselves of one of the fundamental principles of working with sick children: treat the child before you treat the disease. Before jumping to medical conclusions, it is imperative that nurses rule out the possible non-medical causes of a disruption in the patients status. These causes are essentially the same reasons a perfectly healthy child would get upset.



It's much easier said than done to apply this simple idea to such complicated cases. I once took care of an 11 year-old boy with cancer during the last few weeks of his life. He had a breathing tube placed through his mouth to the back of his throat, and lived off of a ventilator and multiple drips that maintained his heart function. Though he was also on sedatives and pain medication, he managed to stay awake and alert most of the time.

One day, his ventilator alarmed persistently, so I walked into the room to check. His eyes were widened in despair, and he shook his head furiously as he shifted in bed. It was unusual for him to move so much since his body was significantly weak. My immediate assumption was that he couldn't breathe because his tube was occluded. Not it. I then asked if he needed more pain medication. Not it. Diaper change? Not it. His blood pressure steadily climbed, and as I ran out of answers, I saw his frail fingers pointing towards the TV. Ariel, Flounder, and Sebastian were performing a number under the sea.

"Do you want me to change the movie? Is The Little Mermaid too girly for you?" I asked.

He nodded his head, and his entire body relaxed as though breathing a sigh of relief. The ventilator stopped beeping. His blood pressure returned to normal limits. I put on Shrek and all was well in his world. Never threaten the masculinity of an 11 year-old boy, I thought. Lesson learned.