After leaving the NICU with their child, most parents hope to put their experience behind them, but Kayla McMahon felt the opposite. Her time in the NICU inspired her to pursue a career working with pediatric patients of all ages at Logan Health Children’s.
When Kayla was 13 weeks along in her pregnancy, she found out that she had placenta previa and started experiencing placental abruption. She was restricted to 13 weeks of bed rest and eventually received a Cesarean section to help both her and her baby. While in the NICU, a cascade of medical concerns followed that kept the entire family on their toes. “My baby ended up having intussusception at seven days, so a big bowel surgery, followed by every other thing under the sun,” Kayla remembered. “They did an interview on her in the Daily Inter Lake because she was, at that point, the youngest baby to survive there. It was one thing after another.”
Kayla and her family spent 90 days in the NICU and on the second week of being home, her baby came down with community-acquired pneumonia and coded for 24 minutes. After being life-flighted to Denver, she stabilized and made a full recovery. Kayla’s daughter is now seven years old and full of life. “We joke that she was feisty in the NICU, and she’s still feisty. She says that she wants to be a nurse, too.”
Kayla’s decision to start nursing school came about when her NICU baby was just six months old. Seeing the nurses care for her own child inspired her to take on the same role. Moreover, having the support of the pediatric teams at Logan Health Children’s proved very convenient in her studies. “It was very handy doing half of your homework in the hospital. You could ask, ‘Hey, you know this. Any chance you could help explain this to me?’ I’ve done a lot of homework on the blue vinyl couches in peds.”
Now, Kayla has been working at Logan Health Children’s for six months and has been using the insight that she gained during her own NICU stay. “The most rewarding part is getting to give back to the parent and knowing the little things, like ‘Did you actually order food?’, ‘Have you eaten anything?’, ‘Have you slept?’ because that’s all important. Knowing the other side of the couch helps. I feel like you can give more compassionate care.”
To new pediatric nurses, she recommends taking time to acknowledge young patients when speaking. “Most kids don’t need to be coddled when you’re speaking to them. If they’re five or six, yes, you change your tone and you are still talking to the parents, but I’ve seen a lot of kids get talked over, I suppose, instead of actually directly talked to.”
As Kayla continues her career with Logan Health Children’s and various other departments, there’s no doubt that her care is marked by a level of empathy that few experience. She looks forward to the rest of her career with enthusiasm. “I’ve just been enjoying it. I’m happy to be here and hope to be here for quite some time.”
