Our Nurse of the Week honor goes to the UT Health San Antonio pediatric nurses who went above and beyond for an 8-year-old cancer patient named Darcey when they volunteered to become backup dancers for the budding dancer.
The nurses met the sweet girl a few years ago when she started her treatment with UT Health and soon fell in love with the adorable little one. A video of the group dancing caught the eye of Texas native Kelly Clarkson last year, who featured them in the “What I’m Liking” segment of her show, The Kelly Clarkson Show. The former “American Idol” winner praised the nurses and gave them a “Texas-sized shout-out.”
“I don’t know how you could know Darcey and not fall in love with her,” one of the pediatric nurses said when the host face-timed them. “She’s just a sweetheart. She’s always in a charming mood. She’s just an incredible person. And, even on the worst days of her treatment, she’s always smiling and in a happy mood.”
The pediatric nurses danced with the young girl and made matching shirts to wear while performing. Clarkson praised the group for their kindness and gifted the nurses $250 each, thanks to a partnership with Pilot Pen. “It’s been an incredibly hard couple of years that we’ve all experienced, so thank you so much for being at your hospital and taking care of people,” Clarkson told the nurses. “We really, really appreciate you.”
Social media users also fell in love with the sweet gesture, with one person commenting: “This is so awesome, the Oncology nurses and doctors are so awesome too. They go above and beyond.” Another added: “Way to go ladies. So nice to see such dedicated Nurses. Dancing sure seems to be something that cheers anyone up on the darkest of days.”
Nominate a Nurse of the Week! Every Wednesday, DailyNurse.com features a nurse making a difference in the lives of their patients, students, and colleagues. We encourage you to nominate a nurse who has impacted your life as the next Nurse of the Week, and we’ll feature them online and in our weekly newsletter.
