How we’re blessed by Nurse Jessi, and grateful, too
Handling treatments is one thing, but speaking "teenager" is also a benefit
He checks in with her and tells her he misses her when she’s gone. She tries to like sports and ask questions about the subject, just because she knows how much Jonah cares about it. She sends him photos when she’s on vacation. He regularly sends her the dumb blue Grinch meme talking about knee surgery. (I don’t get it.) They have inside jokes.
Nurse Jessi joined us three years ago as the Monday and Friday nurse for Jonah, who has epidermolysis bullosa (EB), and it was a match made in heaven.
I had the privilege to write about Nurse Clair — who is still very much with us after nine years — a couple of years ago. We are blessed with two amazing nurses, and I’m grateful.
What it means to be comfortable with our nurse
I don’t know if you know this about teenagers, but they can be hard to please. It takes longer for them to feel comfortable and open up with someone. Jonah, especially, with all he has to endure and the privacy invasion that comes along with having a medical needs team, has high expectations about who he lets into his medical world.
Jonah and Nurse Jessi, on the first day of his second semester of freshmen year. (Courtesy of Patrice Williams)
Jessi Kenny began with us in early 2022 and has been a perfect fit from the start. She instantly connected, not just with Jonah, but with our entire family. I was so surprised by how comfortable we all felt with her and how Jonah immediately opened up to her.
Jessi has a gentle spirit and an extremely calming presence. She is incredibly go-with-the-flow — which is especially helpful when you are tagging along with a newly licensed driver who’s experiencing freedom (to go to the fast-food restaurant Cookout whenever he wants!) for the first time.
Jessi does all the things our nurses are required to do — making tube meals, drawing up medicines, doing wound care and dressing changes, and more. But she does more than that. She loves us and prays for us, checks on us when we’re sick, and spoils us on our birthdays. She and her then-fiancé once showed up at a basketball game Jonah was announcing in the eighth grade. That’s a middle school basketball game, on a weeknight, on a day when Jonah wasn’t even her patient. That’s true love.
Because of Jessi and Clair, I can work full time and know with confidence that Jonah is in good hands. In addition to their technical knowledge of Jonah’s EB and their nursing expertise, they’re both good at teenager-ese, which is particularly important at this stage in Jonah’s journey.
Jonah, dressed up fancy for Nurse Jessi’s wedding last weekend. (Photo by Patrice Williams)
Jessi just married her sweetheart last weekend. We were honored to be invited to the wedding, and it felt like our own family member was tying the knot. It doesn’t take the big moments for us to love and appreciate her, but being part of that particular big moment did make me tear up in gratitude for her friendship (and yes, her “nurseship”) in our lives.
While at the wedding, we also met another teenager in attendance. She was Jessi’s Tuesday and Thursday patient, who seemed to love her just as much as we do. It’s a special relationship.
We’re so thankful. When you have someone coming into your home and staying extended hours each day, it’s important to be comfortable and close. I cannot imagine how it’d be if our nurses weren’t who they are — lovely, funny, hardworking, caring, amazing humans. I can’t imagine if our nurses weren’t family.
Note: Epidermolysis Bullosa News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Epidermolysis Bullosa News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to epidermolysis bullosa.
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