Children’s Minnesota nurse gives back to same department that helped her
Children’s Minnesota nurse gives back
A Children's Minnesota nurse is giving back to other children in the same department that she was treated in as a kid.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Once a neurosurgery patient, a Children's Minnesota nurse is now giving back to other children in the same department she was treated.
From patient to nurse
The backstory:
More than a decade ago, Kali Anderson was in the same position as her patients.
When she was 10 years old, she began experiencing intense and frequent headaches, anywhere between 50 and 80 each day.
"I would turn my head, and I would get this weird pain like when you eat ice cream too fast and you get a brain freeze and your whole life stops for a minute," Anderson told FOX 9.
A trip to Children's Minnesota revealed Kali suffered from a Chiari malformation – a condition where the space for the brain stem is smaller than average or has an unusual shape.
A short time later, she had brain surgery and now lives pain-free.
Anderson is now 25 years old and has found a home at Children's Minnesota, sharing her story and showing off her scar to patients facing similar situations and fears.
'Ever since I had my surgery here, ever since I experienced the nurses here and how well they treated me and how much I felt seen in my diagnosis... they are the reason I wanted to become a nurse," said Anderson. "I love taking care of my patients and seeing them grow and watching them grow and get better and go home."