Offering big inspiration through miniature craft

When a young trauma patient was feeling down about his situation, Marsha Beisner offered inspiration through handmade art.

The nurse with UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies (MCR) crocheted a tiny ladybug, small enough to fit on a fingertip, and gave it to the patient along with a seashell and a note, “You can do anything you put your mind to.”

A “super micro” piece, creating the yarn ladybug requires special eyeglasses and smaller tools, Beisner said. She added the “impossibly tiny” size emphasizes the message in the note.

“I just try to be encouraging and uplifting – to be positive and relate in some way,” she said.

As a mother with a kid near the patient’s age, Beisner said she could see he needed something to lift his spirits.

“He really liked it, and he thought it was pretty cool,” she said. “He discharged not too long after that.”

Beisner has worked in health care for about 17 years, and she’s been with MCR for about six years. She is one of the trauma-surgical unit’s primary preceptors for new graduate RNs.

“Marsha is a true advocate for our patients and a wonderful teammate to her peers,” said Austin Erhart, post-trauma nurse manager with MCR.