{"id":6428,"date":"2019-06-06T08:00:27","date_gmt":"2019-06-06T13:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/?p=6428"},"modified":"2022-02-09T21:43:05","modified_gmt":"2022-02-10T03:43:05","slug":"family-blessed-by-a-christmas-angel-a-nurse-named-joy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/family-blessed-by-a-christmas-angel-a-nurse-named-joy\/","title":{"rendered":"Family blessed by a Christmas angel, a nurse named Joy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Nora

Nora Peters and her family: Phillip standing behind Lindsey, left, and Jamaria.<\/p><\/div>\n

Our story begins with Nora Peters, a woman who raised three children and then pursued a childhood dream.<\/p>\n

\u201cEver since I was a girl, I wanted to take care of children who aren\u2019t loved,\u201d Nora said.<\/p>\n

She started by filling in for foster parents who needed respite. Then in the early 2000s, Phillip came to live with her.<\/p>\n

Phillip was 11 years old, mentally delayed in his development and non-verbal. When Phillip\u2019s grandmother passed away, Nora adopted him. He\u2019s 29 now.<\/p>\n

A couple of years later came Lindsey, an infant given up by her birth parents. She wasn\u2019t expected to live for five months. Nora adopted her, too. Today, Lindsey is 16, non-verbal and confined to a wheelchair. She occasionally depends on a portable oxygen unit<\/a> to assist her breathing.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s Jamaria, whom Nora adopted at the age of 3. Like Lindsey, he\u2019s 16 \u2013 \u201cThey think they\u2019re twins,\u201d Nora said. Jamaria is also non-verbal, suffers seizures<\/a>, must be fed through a tube and spends his days in a wheelchair.<\/p>\n

Nora\u2019s philosophy is simple: \u201cA child should always be loved.\u201d<\/p>\n

So she loves them with every ounce of her being, pouring all she has into their care. There is nothing she would not do for them. They are her children, after all.<\/p>\n

A gift of joy<\/h2>\n

Well, it came to pass during the Christmas season of 2015 that Jamaria\u2019s seizures had become so violent his hip was damaged and required surgery. So Nora drove him 45 miles from their home in Lincoln, Illinois, to OSF HealthCare Children\u2019s Hospital of Illinois<\/a> in Peoria. No one was available to stay with Phillip and Lindsey at home, so she brought them, too.<\/p>\n

As their first night at the hospital approached, though, Nora grew anxious. Jamaria had never spent the night alone or even with a stranger. It would be OK for Nora to stay in the room with him overnight, but not for his siblings. Nora didn\u2019t know what to do. So she prayed.<\/p>\n

\u201cChristmas is a celebration of the birth of our Savior,\u201d Nora said. \u201cThat night, the gift of joy entered my son\u2019s room. She came in the form of a nurse.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the nurse\u2019s name was Joy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there is a need I can meet and God puts me there to meet it, I shouldn\u2019t be looking around to see who else can meet that need,\u201d said Joy Geer, RN, a nurse at OSF Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n

Joy\u2019s little brother had been born with a congenital heart defect. Their family spent a lot of time in hospitals, and as she grew up, Joy followed her own heart into pediatric nursing. She joined OSF Children\u2019s Hospital in 2008, when she and her husband, Garry, moved to Peoria. One more thing about the Geers: They were also foster parents.<\/p>\n

So it shouldn\u2019t be a surprise that they connected immediately, these two women who had invested their lives in serving the needs of children they had not born. Joy felt Nora\u2019s burden and listened. When Nora asked questions, Joy answered every one.<\/p>\n

Overwhelmed by kindness<\/h2>\n

\"sewingConfident that Jamaria would be in good hands, Nora took her other children and found an empty waiting room. There, she put Phillip to sleep on the couch, then managed Lindsey\u2019s oxygen while the girl slept in her wheelchair.<\/p>\n

They were awake and back in Jamaria\u2019s room by 6 a.m. Joy gave them a full report; the scope and details convincing Nora that this nurse really cared.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t imagine having to leave and not know every detail,\u201d Joy said. \u201cEvery parent deserves to know their child wasn\u2019t a chore or just a set of tasks you did, but that you took care of them as a person.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next time Nora saw Joy was a couple of days later, when Jamaria was being checked out of the hospital. This time, Joy brought a present.<\/p>\n

Jamaria\u2019s hip cast included a rod between his legs, so he could not be dressed in regular pants. Nora had openly worried about that, too. So on her day off, Joy had purchased a pair of trousers, cut the seams and then reconstructed them with Velcro so they could be taken on and off with relative ease. She gave the new pants to Jamaria.<\/p>\n

Nora was so overwhelmed with emotion, she could barely manage to choke a \u201cthank you\u201d through her tears. Joy smiled. And then she was gone.<\/p>\n

Where did she go?<\/h2>\n
\"Joy

Joy Geer, APRN, an in-house float nurse at OSF HealthCare Children’s Hospital of Illinois in Peoria.<\/p><\/div>\n

But Nora wanted to express her thanks more appropriately and nominate Joy for a DAISY Award<\/a>, an honor presented to \u201cextraordinary nurses.\u201d So she called the hospital and asked for Joy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho?\u201d came the reply.<\/p>\n

She called again. And again. Every time the response was the same:<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nobody here by that name.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nora began to wonder if she had imagined everything. But those special, hand-fashioned pants were no illusion. They had come from somebody. A year passed, then two.<\/p>\n

\u201cI truly began to believe Joy must have been an angel,\u201d Nora said. \u201cA real one from God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then last fall, Jamaria was back at OSF Children\u2019s Hospital for more surgery. Nora was waiting with him in his room \u2013 and in walked Joy.<\/p>\n

Nora burst into tears and reached out to touch her.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re real! You really exist!\u201d Nora said.<\/p>\n

When Nora told Joy that she had decided the nurse was an angel, Joy didn\u2019t know exactly what to say. Reflecting on it today, she calls it an honor.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be thought of as somebody who blessed you and then disappeared, that\u2019s good,\u201d Joy said. \u201cNone of the nurses are here to win awards. We all do things that are just humans taking care of humans. It\u2019s what God wants us to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The angel\u2019s name was Joy<\/h2>\n

So how was it that Nora had been unable to find any trace of Joy?<\/p>\n

Well, you can look at it this way. Joy is an in-house float, meaning her day-to-day assignments at the 136-bed hospital are spread over half a dozen units and four floors. For security reasons, nurses\u2019 badges display only their first names, so Nora had nothing but \u201cJoy\u201d to help her search.<\/p>\n

Or you can also look at it as Nora does: Joy is an angel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat night last year, I did not wander the hallways as in times past,\u201d Nora said. \u201cI was able to care for my other children at home, an hour away, because our Joy \u2013 Joy Geer \u2013 was caring for my precious son.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our story begins with Nora Peters, a woman who raised three children and then pursued a childhood dream. \u201cEver since I was a girl, I wanted to take care of children who aren\u2019t loved,\u201d Nora said. She started by filling in for foster parents who needed respite. Then in the early 2000s, Phillip came to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":85,"featured_media":6491,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[223,176],"tags":[700,324,142],"coauthors":[912],"class_list":["post-6428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patient-story","category-careers","tag-congenital-heart","tag-holidays","tag-childrens-hospital-of-illinois"],"yoast_head":"\nFamily blessed by angel, a nurse named Joy | OSF HealthCare<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how an OSF Children\u2019s Hospital nurse provided the greatest care and love for an adoptive mother and her three special-needs children.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/family-blessed-by-a-christmas-angel-a-nurse-named-joy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Family blessed by a Christmas angel, a nurse named Joy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn how an OSF Children\u2019s Hospital nurse provided the greatest care and love for an adoptive mother and her three special-needs children.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/family-blessed-by-a-christmas-angel-a-nurse-named-joy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OSF HealthCare Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/osfhealthcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-06-06T13:00:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-02-10T03:43:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/patient-story-greer-ft-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kirk Wessler\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Family blessed by a Christmas angel, a nurse named Joy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Learn how an OSF Children\u2019s Hospital nurse provided the greatest care and love for an adoptive mother and her three special-needs children.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/patient-story-greer-ft-1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@osfhealthcare\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@osfhealthcare\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kirk Wessler\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/family-blessed-by-a-christmas-angel-a-nurse-named-joy\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/family-blessed-by-a-christmas-angel-a-nurse-named-joy\/\",\"name\":\"Family blessed by angel, a nurse named Joy | OSF HealthCare\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/family-blessed-by-a-christmas-angel-a-nurse-named-joy\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/family-blessed-by-a-christmas-angel-a-nurse-named-joy\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/patient-story-greer-ft-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-06-06T13:00:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-02-10T03:43:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/bbcfadf7d37885247c75afc4eb7ce56e\"},\"description\":\"Learn how an OSF Children\u2019s Hospital nurse provided the greatest care and love for an adoptive mother and her three special-needs children.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/family-blessed-by-a-christmas-angel-a-nurse-named-joy\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/family-blessed-by-a-christmas-angel-a-nurse-named-joy\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/family-blessed-by-a-christmas-angel-a-nurse-named-joy\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/patient-story-greer-ft-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/patient-story-greer-ft-1.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Hands out accepting a miracle\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/family-blessed-by-a-christmas-angel-a-nurse-named-joy\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Family blessed by a Christmas angel, a nurse named Joy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"OSF HealthCare Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/bbcfadf7d37885247c75afc4eb7ce56e\",\"name\":\"Kirk Wessler\",\"description\":\"After being a writer for OSF HealthCare for three years, Kirk Wessler retired in January 2022. A Peoria native and graduate of Bradley University, Kirk's experience included working for newspapers in Missouri, Texas and the Peoria Journal Star. Kirk and his wife, Mary Frances, have five sons, four daughters-in-law and nine grandchildren. Kirk plans to spend his retirement on the golf course, mastering the guitar and traveling.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/author\/kwessler\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Family blessed by angel, a nurse named Joy | OSF HealthCare","description":"Learn how an OSF Children\u2019s Hospital nurse provided the greatest care and love for an adoptive mother and her three special-needs children.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/family-blessed-by-a-christmas-angel-a-nurse-named-joy\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Family blessed by a Christmas angel, a nurse named Joy","og_description":"Learn how an OSF Children\u2019s Hospital nurse provided the greatest care and love for an adoptive mother and her three special-needs children.","og_url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/family-blessed-by-a-christmas-angel-a-nurse-named-joy\/","og_site_name":"OSF HealthCare Blog","article_publisher":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/osfhealthcare","article_published_time":"2019-06-06T13:00:27+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-02-10T03:43:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/patient-story-greer-ft-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kirk Wessler","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Family blessed by a Christmas angel, a nurse named Joy","twitter_description":"Learn how an OSF Children\u2019s Hospital nurse provided the greatest care and love for an adoptive mother and her three special-needs children.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/patient-story-greer-ft-1.jpg","twitter_creator":"@osfhealthcare","twitter_site":"@osfhealthcare","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kirk Wessler","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/family-blessed-by-a-christmas-angel-a-nurse-named-joy\/","url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/family-blessed-by-a-christmas-angel-a-nurse-named-joy\/","name":"Family blessed by angel, a nurse named Joy | OSF HealthCare","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/family-blessed-by-a-christmas-angel-a-nurse-named-joy\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/family-blessed-by-a-christmas-angel-a-nurse-named-joy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/patient-story-greer-ft-1.jpg","datePublished":"2019-06-06T13:00:27+00:00","dateModified":"2022-02-10T03:43:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/bbcfadf7d37885247c75afc4eb7ce56e"},"description":"Learn how an OSF Children\u2019s Hospital nurse provided the greatest care and love for an adoptive mother and her three special-needs children.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/family-blessed-by-a-christmas-angel-a-nurse-named-joy\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/family-blessed-by-a-christmas-angel-a-nurse-named-joy\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/family-blessed-by-a-christmas-angel-a-nurse-named-joy\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/patient-story-greer-ft-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/patient-story-greer-ft-1.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Hands out accepting a miracle"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/family-blessed-by-a-christmas-angel-a-nurse-named-joy\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Family blessed by a Christmas angel, a nurse named Joy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/","name":"OSF HealthCare Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/bbcfadf7d37885247c75afc4eb7ce56e","name":"Kirk Wessler","description":"After being a writer for OSF HealthCare for three years, Kirk Wessler retired in January 2022. A Peoria native and graduate of Bradley University, Kirk's experience included working for newspapers in Missouri, Texas and the Peoria Journal Star. Kirk and his wife, Mary Frances, have five sons, four daughters-in-law and nine grandchildren. Kirk plans to spend his retirement on the golf course, mastering the guitar and traveling.","url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/author\/kwessler\/"}]}},"modified_by":"Michael Vujovich","featured_image_url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/patient-story-greer-ft-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/85"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6428"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6428\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6503,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6428\/revisions\/6503"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6428"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=6428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}