Northwestern nurse administered COVID-19 vaccine to her mother, a Cary resident who also is a nurse

Lizzy Murphy, a nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, always hoped for a way to thank her parents for the support they provided her throughout her life.

Last month, she got to do that by administering the COVID-19 vaccine to her mother, Lynn Griesmaier, a Cary resident who also works at Northwestern Memorial.

Murphy said it was great to be able to give her “role model and [her] biggest support the vaccine.”

“It was full circle,” Murphy said. “Because of her, I’m in the position that I’m in and I’ve been able to be successful because of her.”

The large conference room where vaccinations were taking place had about 18 stations set up for people to get the vaccine, Griesmaier said.

Walking in there, she took a moment to pause and reflect.

“I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, how long have we waited for this?’” Griesmaier said.

Sitting down in the chair next to her daughter, Griesmaier felt relieved.

“I just thought was in such great hands,” Griesmaier said. “It was just amazing that we could share this moment.”

While giving her mom the vaccine Murphy stayed professional and did exactly what she needed to do, Griesmaier said. But then, after, they started jumping up and down with excitement.

“[We were like], ‘Oh my God, do you realize what just happened?’ It was quite a joyous moment,” Griesmaier said.

Murphy, who grew up in Cary and now lives in Chicago, has always been interested in medicine. Although her mom is in the medical field, she was never pressured to be a nurse. Instead, Griesmaier let Murphy figure that out on her own.

“I’m very grateful I have a great role model and example to learn from, and having her as a support through all this has been huge,” Murphy said.

As staff educator, Murphy covered two units before the pandemic, orthopedics and general surgery. Both were converted to COVID-19 units during the pandemic. Part of her job was to make sure everyone was taking the proper precautions and using their personal protective equipment correctly.

Murphy said they all had to adjust to the “new norm.”

“It was kind of a roller coaster,” Murphy said. “Especially the first couple of weeks, things were changing every couple hours.”

Griesmaier, the coordinator for the breast oncology clinic, said additional precautions had to be put in place in her unit, with the hardest among them being that visitors no longer were allowed.

“Breast cancer patients need support, and they need that additional set of ears there to hear what’s going on,” Griesmaier said. “We had to come up with new ways to try and help facilitate that communication.”

For Murphy and those she works with, the vaccine is a “little sense of relief” and a signal things are moving in the right direction.

“Across the system …. we’ve been waiting for this,” said Murphy, who has been a nurse for six years. “These past couple weeks have been great because everyone’s getting their vaccines and people are just starting to refresh a little bit.”

About a week ago, Murphy had her second dose of the vaccine. Both she and her mom have not really had any side effects.

“Honestly, I thought it was easier and better than the flu shot,” Murphy said.

Griesmaier agreed, saying she didn’t have any side effects aside from her arm being a little sore a few hours after getting the vaccine.

To those who are hesitant about getting the vaccine, the nurses advise them to trust the science, as the vaccine has been well studied and put through trials.

Murphy tells patients that she gave it to her mom, who is doing fine.

“I mean, you can’t get a better testimonial than that because I would tell her the truth,” Griesmaier said.

While the two women are grateful to be able to receive the vaccine, for them, the real sense of relief will come when their patients can get it, too.

“That will be the wonderful moment that we’ve all been waiting for,” Griesmaier said.