Turning paper airplanes and toy cars into patient progress
From making paper airplanes and helping a patient race his toy cars, nurse Caroline Lerner tapped into creative, playful ideas to support a patient who was recovering from a traumatic brain injury.
Lerner is an acute care nurse at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital who loves bringing both creativity and compassion to her unit.
The patient spent much of his day in a Posey bed — a specialized safety bed designed to keep patients secure — with limited mobility and speech. Recognizing her patient’s frustration and his desire to move and connect with people, Lerner found simple ways to keep her patient engaged while he had to be in his room.
“The patient had his own wind-up toy cars, so I made a racetrack out of tape in his room,” Lerner said.
“He loved his cars and started by watching me race them. Over time, he began taking over, and it transitioned to me watching him drive the cars through the course all on his own.”
When Lerner and her patient weren’t racing toy cars, she decided to encourage him to leave his room and connect with people in the hospital hallways.
“I made paper airplanes for us to throw in the unit hallway, looking up different ways to fold the paper and create unique planes,” she said. “We would compete against each other and other nurses on the unit to see whose plane could fly the farthest.”
As time passed, Lerner noticed that the patient was improving and becoming more independent.
“He learned how to decorate and build his own paper airplanes and even started winning the friendly competitions against the nurses,” she said.
Leaving the room also sparked noticeable changes in the patient’s mood and communication.
“He would say hello to every person he passed in the hallways — patients, nurses, visitors — everyone. It was really sweet, and we all loved having him on our floor.”
For Lerner, the most powerful change was seeing her patient regain confidence over time.
“My patient came to the unit not understanding how to do things independently due to his injury, and was understandably frustrated,” she said. “With time and practice, he became more confident and comfortable in his actions and social interactions.”
Through simple activities and thoughtful engagement, Lerner helped foster confidence, independence and connection during an important stage of the patient’s recovery.
“My goal was to bring a sense of purpose and joy to his daily routine,” she said.
Margaret Ries, an occupational therapist at University of Colorado Hospital, recognized Lerner’s impact in a recent Celebrating You nomination.
“Caroline’s thoughtful engagement with the patient and her ability to adapt activities to his needs reflect her deep commitment to the patient’s well-being and the healing process. Her compassion and creativity are truly inspiring.”