Health care heroes: Meet Mattie Brady, a nurse practitioner at Vanderbilt Hospital

This birthday party was different than any of the 92 that had preceded it.

There was cake. Presents, too.

But the grandmother of Mattie Brady's husband Josh was looking out the window of her nursing home room. On the other side were her children and grandchildren, holding up "happy birthday" signs and talking through the glass, unavailable for a hug.

For Brady, a nurse practitioner who works in the geriatrics unit at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit close to home — and work. 

Brady is 21 weeks pregnant with her first child. She's working on her doctorate degree at Johns Hopkins. She's also been working from home for most of the pandemic, an order issued by Vanderbilt because she has a baby on the way.

Brady, 29, has been part of a partnership between nurse practitioners and the Vanderbilt home health company to provide follow-up care for COVID-19 patients who are now at home, as well as for their families.

Part of her job now is staying in touch with people, including families, who have been affected by the virus after they leave the hospital. She makes sure their voices are heard. She also communicates regularly with nurse managers for reports about which patients need to be seen.

"It's so much more than working with patients," Brady said. "Also with the families because of the restrictions that are in place to limit visits. ... These people haven't seen their loved ones in three months."

'I was such a baby'

Brady's introduction to what became her passion didn't come to fruition without conflict. She was "deathly afraid" of needles and blood before a behavioral therapist helped her overcome her fears.

"My friends would laugh at you, if you told my high school friends I was going to be a nurse because I was such a baby," she said.

After that, Brady attended a medical mission trip to the Dominican Republic. When she returned, her grandmother had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Brady, who grew up in North Carolina and attended graduate school at Vanderbilt, helped care for her, an experience that helped lead her to nursing — specifically working with the elderly. 

"I'm not an adrenaline junkie or an ER fanatic," she said. "But really connecting with those who have life stories and just so much to share ..."

Making friends

Such as when Brady was doing home visits with an elderly couple in their 80s. After the wife died, Brady continued her friendship with the husband. Brady, a food junkie, would often bring the widower food and the two would share conversation.

The man, a woodworker who died six months after his wife, made Brady a cutting board and a mail holder, both of which she uses to this day.

"There's so much more to it than just the physical aspect," Brady said. "There's a real emotional and mental component that goes along with it."

Brady takes to the kitchen to help relieve the stresses of work and school.

She claims to make the "best mashed potatoes in the world," and said her German chocolate pies are right up there on her list of specialties. 

"I know nutrition is important since I am in health care," she said. "I also believe that a good meal brings about good conversation and happiness. It's all interconnected."

Just like Brady tries to be with patients and their families.

Soon, she'll have a family of her own, too.

"First child to the pandemic, it's a whole new thing," Brady said. 

Reach Paul Skrbina at pskrbina@tennessean.com and follow him on Twitter @PaulSkrbina.