Ozarks Healthcare’s personnel turn bad day into birthday to remember

Photo courtesy of Ozarks Healthcare

Orthopedic team brings smiles to young patient with a surprise post-surgery celebration

When 8-year-old Olivia Haviland woke up on April 9, she was probably thinking about her birthday the next day and the party planned to celebrate it. But instead of shopping for new party clothes or picking out a cake, Olivia found herself at Ozarks Healthcare with a badly fractured wrist—facing closed reduction surgery to repair it.

While Olivia was in expert medical hands under the care of surgeon Dr. Thomas Harbert, the celebration she had hoped for was going to look very different—if it happened at all.

“She was just talking to our anesthesia folks and her CRNAs and mentioned that tomorrow was her birthday,” said Amber Tooley, FNP, in the Orthopedics and Spine Clinic. “She was really sad because she wasn’t going to be able to do her normal birthday activities because of her wrist.”

Olivia’s words didn’t fall on deaf ears. Quite the contrary—she was heard by Kevin Dahl, CRNA, and Ashley Helton, RN circulator, who sprang into action while Olivia was in surgery.

“Working back here, it’s everyday stuff to us, but for someone as young as she was, it’s a scary situation—especially the day before their birthday,” Dahl said. “Both of us being parents, we just felt compelled to do anything we could to make her feel more at ease and a little bit special.”

“We saw that it was the day before her birthday, and when we went to pick her up, she specifically asked her grandparents to get her a caramel Frappuccino from Starbucks,” Helton said. “When we were done, I had a second to go get a little break, so I went and got her the Frappuccino—with permission from her family.

“Then Kevin—he’s the sweetest man and a good dad—went above and beyond. He got her flowers and some little treats and tried to make the day special for her. Then, we had a little surprise party as she woke up.”

Both Dahl and Helton said their own families inspired them to do something nice for Olivia, but that if they hadn’t been there, other staff likely would have done the same. While situations like Olivia’s don’t happen every day, they said the culture at Ozarks Healthcare is to always go the extra mile.

“I would agree that it’s part of the culture,” Helton said. “We’ve had elderly patients where we find out it’s close to their birthday—or it is their birthday—so we go get them cake or just do something to make it special. Nobody wants to be here on their birthday, you know?”

“Our job is to help put a person at ease and gain their trust in what is a very scary situation for a lot of people,” Dahl added. “We’re here to help anyone who might be nervous or scared.”