A Triumphant Return to the Neuro ICU
Former patient Kerri Hatch, center, is joined by some of the nurses who cared for her, including, from left, Mary Mintz, RN, Coleen McCarty, RN, Terri Kanalski, RN, and Kristin Iannitelli, RN.
Six months ago, Kerri Hatch was wheeled out of the Neuroscience ICU, where she was treated for tramatic brain injury, spinal fluid leakage and facial fractures after falling from a horse in January. In July, a determined Hatch, 25, triumphantly returned to Tower 9C walking on her own to meet the nurses who cared for her.
Terri Kanalski, RN, was thrilled to reunite with her former patient. “She definitely left an impression on me,” Kanalski said. “I wanted to make her better.”
Hatch’s parents, who were by her side during her three-week stay, credit the Neuro nurses with their daughter’s recovery. “Their devotion is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before,” Audrey Hatch, Kerri’s mother, said. “Trust is not a word that even begins to describe what my husband and I had to look to them with.”
The Hatches already had experienced the skill of one BWH nurse. Ursula Goodine, RN, of the Operating Room, was at Johnson Pond when the accident occurred. She rushed to the aid of the fallen Kerri Hatch and joined her mother in performing CPR for more than 20 minutes until an ambulance arrived. The Hatches didn’t think they’d ever see Goodine again, until the group enjoyed a tearful reunion when they met in Kerri’s hospital room the day after the accident.
Her July return to BWH was a new experience for Kerri. Because of the extent of her injuries, she has no memory of her time on 9C, though she was welcomed back with open arms.
“It makes me feel good that all these people really care,” she said. “I didn’t know what to expect or what I’d see. I’ve never even driven by the hospital.”
Seeing Hatch walk through the doors of 9C was especially rewarding for Kanalski. “We don’t often see patients after they leave here,” she said. “To see her doing so well is a big reward for us.”