A Father’s Love

From hospital housekeeper to pediatric nurse, Noriel Sanchez’s ongoing journey to care for his son put him in a position to help other kids as well By Kimberly Felton

Two years ago, Noriel Sanchez’s greatest hope for his son was a peaceful death.

Sanchez was three months into the nursing program at George Fox, attending classes during the day and working nights, seeing his family in between naps that sufficed for sleep, when it seemed his second son – his inspiration for entering the profession – was dying. Sanchez was no stranger to loss, but this one felt impossible to absorb.

Stranger in a Strange Land

Born in Panama, Sanchez grew up in a working-class family. “We knew the only way to better ourselves was to work hard and do our best in whatever was in front of us,” he says. At 17, he entered an architecture firm and began studying for his degree. Six years later, Rebecca arrived – a young missionary from the United States who needed assistance with a building project.

Building plans led to wedding plans, and they settled in to raise a family. Soon after, their first son, David, was born.

Life’s trajectory was altered – only temporarily, they thought – when Rebecca’s father needed care after a heart transplant. Sanchez was 29, handling drafting, designs, administration of small projects, budgeting and planning for a civil engineering firm that built skyscrapers. As they packed for a planned one or two years in the U.S., Sanchez paused in writing his thesis, focused on his English, and planned to continue pursuing his degree in America.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go according to plan. Sanchez discovered his credits didn’t transfer, and he didn’t have the time nor money to start his degree over. He needed to support his family, and felt the acute frustration of the immigrant underestimated for his knowledge and ability. He found work at a grocery store while Rebecca took office work. But that was OK; it was just for a short time. Then Oliver was born.

From Architect to Housekeeper

Oliver was missing a heart valve. Surgery corrected this, but other problems surfaced. He was diagnosed with a “microdeletion of chromosome 6, arm p, location 21.1.” He was the fifth child worldwide diagnosed with the condition.

“My favorite thing about Oliver, he is very strong. He has gone through a lot of health issues and he’s still going forward, always.”

With precious little research on the ailment, Oliver’s condition doesn’t even have a name. It manifests in multiple complications: mental delays, speech impediments, fragile bones. A urologist, hematologist, cardiologist, pulmonologist and nephrologist are among the 20-plus specialists on Oliver’s team.

A return to Panama was out of the question. Oliver had to remain in the U.S. to get the accessible and affordable healthcare he needed. Sanchez would not be an architect after all, and they did not have a Plan B.

Six months later, a Kaiser Permanente job advertisement offered the necessities: healthcare benefits and better pay. The architect-turned-grocer became a housekeeper in the medical-surgical ward.

Before becoming a nurse, Sanchez worked for many years as a housekeeper in the medical-surgical ward at Kaiser Permanente in Beaverton, Oregon.

Between his job and numerous overnighters with Oliver at Randall Children’s Hospital, Sanchez observed and experienced the impact of nurses on the lives of patients and families. The nurses taught him skills to care for Oliver at home, from tube feedings at birth to daily medication injections, and helped him advocate for Oliver’s changing needs.

At home, the family grew. Cora was born, and the family of five settled into the complicated yet simple existence of living the moments. Walking down the dirt road to the pond at the end. Driving around Hagg Lake, listening to music. Playing games, laughing and loving.

Sanchez became team lead on the night shift in housekeeping and trained as a certified nursing assistant – not for a promotion, but to better care for his son’s physical needs.

“When my son is in the hospital, my wife, who’s an English speaker, would deal with a difficult conversation with the medical staff, and I would focus on caring for him,” he says. “I would change his diaper or the bed or feed him. Many people were telling me, ‘I think you should study nursing.’ But I wasn’t called to be a nurse at that point.”

Then Oliver had a stroke.

Sanchez remembers sitting alone during a work break soon after. “I was thinking, ‘What are we gonna do? This is happening now, plus all the other health conditions.’” He decided he needed more medical knowledge to be able to advocate for Oliver. “I remember the next day I sat with my wife and said, ‘I think I want to be a nurse. I think that’s gonna help us financially, it’s gonna help us care for him, and it’s gonna be my way to process everything, to maybe assimilate what we’re going through.’ That was, for me, part of it.”

Rebecca took a deep breath and agreed to the madness that was to come while he managed school, in addition to work.

Sanchez’s pursuit of a nursing degree included studying, working full time, and sometimes even completing 12-hour clinical rotations.

Strength for the Impossible

Sanchez completed prerequisites at Portland Community College, then transferred to George Fox for the final two years of nurse training. That is when Oliver, suddenly, was on the edge of death. He was 9.

Oliver’s immune system attacked his cells. A mere sneeze caused copious bleeding; his blood would not clot. With Oliver hooked up to machines and in an induced coma, doctors worked to stop the bleeding. In that moment, Sanchez suspected that his nursing skills would never help his own son. He asked God for a peaceful, painless transition for Oliver into the next – the better – life as they began palliative care.

When nursing professor and program director Loretta Krautscheid learned of Oliver’s tenuous situation, she began asking Sanchez for updates before each class, praying with him.

“What impressed me wasn’t what she said. The thing that stuck with me was that she was willing to be uncomfortable,” Sanchez says. “For a nurse, you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable. Being able to listen, and not think of what you have to say. Just listening. That was a learning moment for me.”

Nursing professor Loretta Krautscheid observes as Sanchez examines a patient in the George Fox nursing skills lab.

Oliver recovered enough to come home – along with yet another medical diagnosis of thrombocytopenia, where blood cannot clot. “My favorite thing about Oliver, he is very strong,” Sanchez says. “He has gone through a lot of health issues and he’s still going forward, always.” But life remains tenuous, and the family continues to hold on to the moments.

“I want to give back in Oliver’s name. Many of my future coworkers cared for Oliver in the past – the same nurses who inspired me to pursue a career in nursing.”

Before graduating in May with his nursing degree, Sanchez was hired by Randall Children’s Hospital – the same place where Oliver has received care and life-saving treatment since birth. “It’s a full-circle moment that gives me a sense of purpose,” he says.

For Sanchez, the transition from hospital housekeeper to pediatric nurse is not just about supporting his family financially, or having the skills to better care for his son – it’s also a way to advocate for families like his, to make a difference in the lives of kids like Oliver.

“I want to give back in Oliver’s name,” he says. “Many of my future coworkers cared for Oliver in the past – the same nurses who inspired me to pursue a career in nursing. This is where, many times, I walked the halls with Oliver; now I will do it with my patients.”