Inova nurses helped to brighten a toddler’s hospital stay during winter blizzard

A Bright Spot in the Storm

Little Ryan Morrison was admitted to the hospital during the blizzard in January 2016. He was a hit among the staff, and an experience involving him playing with snow in the hallway drew a lot of attention on Facebook.

What should have been an in-and-out trip to the ER or the pediatrician’s office became a two-day ordeal for the Morrison family when their 16-month-old son, Ryan, came down with an infected lymph node during the blizzard of Jan. 22, 2016.

“Because of the storm, offices were closed, and there was no way we could have gotten the IV or antibiotics Ryan needed without staying in the hospital for two days,” says John Morrison, Ryan’s dad.

Even though Ryan did not exactly love being cooped up in the hospital for the duration, nurses at Inova Fair Oaks Hospital helped make the stay less stressful. “The nurses were really outstanding,” John says. “You could tell they really cared about Ryan, and not just because he was sick. They wanted to make sure he was as comfortable as possible the whole time.”

One experience with Ryan was publicized on Facebook and went viral, drawing over 23,000 likes. It involved a snowball fight in the hallway. John explains: “Some of the nurses grabbed a bassinet and brought in some snow from the blizzard. We had no idea they were doing this, which was a great surprise. At first Ryan didn’t really know what to make of it, but once he touched it, we couldn’t get him to stop. He loved throwing the snow at us and the nurses. Once he had enough, we had a blanket ready to warm him up.”