Madison Carr
OR Nurse, Pilot, Daughter, Granddaughter, Dog Mom, Friend, Human
In my family, as far as healthcare professionals go, I’m it. We’re all pilots. My grandad was in the air force; my dad captains a Boeing 787; my mom works for Air Canada’s training department; my grandma got her pilot’s license at 55; my aunt is a flight attendant—flying is literally in my blood. Even my dog Schooner is named after my grandad’s old air force squadron.
Although I’ve pursued nursing, flying is definitely a passion of mine as well, and I’m currently working on my own license. It all started when I was 13. My dad took me up, said “Do you want to see something cool?”, flipped us over, and then kept flying upside down. At that point I was like, “That’s it. I’m in.” When my grandad retired, he built 10 custom aircraft, and so now my family can fly together.
“Flying is literally in my blood”
“It has shown me the importance of engaging with each patient as a human being, not just another number. “
Family is why I fly, but family is also why I nurse. When I was 14, my grandma was diagnosed with brain and lung cancer. I took her to every radiation appointment; I visited her in hospital every day; I held her hand while she was sick; I told her that she was beautiful without her hair—and I couldn’t save her. So I made her a promise that I’d become a nurse to save someone else. And that’s what I did.
Watching my grandma’s journey in hospital, as well as my own—having been admitted for heart failure and eight knee surgeries over my lifetime—has really informed how I nurse. It has shown me the importance of engaging with each patient as a human being, not just another number. Showing them that they are deserving of compassion and care, regardless of race, religion, life-situation, anything. Showing them that they matter.
I began my career in oncology, but I now work in the operating room, which can be a scary place for patients. For us as staff, we are surrounded by familiar faces whom I would consider a second family, and surgery is just our everyday; but in a patient’s case, they are entering a strange environment with all kinds of people, and lights, and smells, and equipment. I remember my first time as a surgery patient. I felt okay until I saw the operating room lights, and then it suddenly hit me how real this was. I was terrified.
Because I get so little time with my surgical patients while they are awake, I try to make a connection with them as quickly as I can. I let them know that we care for them. I’ll hold their hand or wipe their tears if they need, and I always tell them, “It feels like we come at you like a NASCAR pit crew, but keep in mind that we’re all here solely for you, to make sure that you are safe. You are not alone.” Hopefully that helps.
Any nurse will tell you, our jobs are incredibly fast paced. You have to find the little ways to connect with your patients on a human level. I once had a patient with a young family who lived in an apartment across the street. He could see his home from the hospital room, and he was always trying to wave. I got a bright pink sheet of Bristol board, drew a big heart, and taped it in his window so his family could see exactly where he was. It was such a small thing, but it was so meaningful for him to be able to wave to his daughter every night. That’s the kind of humanizing care I hope I can show: to not just make a difference in someone else’s life, but to be a part of it.
“You have to find the little ways to connect with your patients on a human level. “
They are humans first, who put other humans first.
More than 8,900 caregivers and staff work around the clock in our Victoria Hospitals
#HumansFirst is dedicated to sharing the stories from behind our hospitals’ frontlines. These stories remind us that those who provide care and keep the lights on in our hospitals also have lives outside of them. They have family and friends, they enjoy hobbies and interests, and they have all lived through their own personal triumphs and heartbreaks. Like all of us, they are human, and they have a story to tell.
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