St. Jude nurse helps young patient's Elf on the Shelf

Anyone with a young child who loves Elf on the Shelf knows you do not touch the elf.

The story is that if touched, the elf will lose it's magic and it will not be able to move around at night.

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When a St. Jude Children's Research Hospital patient learned his elf, Joey, had been touched by a human, he was devastated. One of his nurses decided it was a holiday medical emergency.

"We quickly got a team together and performed a ‘magic resuscitation’ with magic dust CPR," Bone Marrow Transplant Unit nurse Danielle said. "We used a nasogastric tube to remove the ‘human-touch toxin’ and started IVs to circulate the spirit of Santa."

Joey was on the mend. The young patient was thrilled.

"Nursing provides an opportunity to not only be advocates for our patients’ needs but also to improve outcomes," Danielle said. "That can be with medication or with emotional support."

"I think as nurses it’s essential for us to keep in mind kids are still kids despite what they’re going through medically," she said. "Focusing on the quality of their hospital stay goes hand in hand with the treatment they’re getting."

Nurse Danielle knew this was exactly the holiday cheer the child needed.

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