Abayomi Lasode
October 2023
Abayomi
Lasode
,
BSN, RN
Med/Tele Unit 2
Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center
Vallejo
,
CA
United States
Again, this was providing my mother with outstanding care even when Abayomi was not assigned to her care.
My mother had been experiencing chest pains intermittently for the last 2 weeks therefore her PCP and advice nurse instructed her to go to the ER to be seen immediately by an MD due to her medical history, even if she was not currently experiencing any chest pain. She was seen in the ER and observed for a few hours because she had elevated blood pressure. She had labs drawn, EKG, and chest X-ray results came back normal.
However, her blood pressure remained high, and it was determined that she would be admitted to continue observing her. A heparin drip was started in preparation for a possible cardiac catheterization. Upon dispensing heparin drip, she began to experience leg muscle spasms with a pain level of 3-4 which was relieved after light massage and stretching. Her blood pressure continued to stay elevated regardless of the meds given so she was then admitted and transferred to the cardiology department to stay overnight.
As the night continued, her muscle spasms progressively got worse increasing her pain level to 10. Her attending nurse was able to contact the physician on call and she was given Zanaflex for the muscle cramping and the nurse assured her this should relieve the muscle spasms once the medication took effect. She was able to get some sleep for a little over an hour, however, she then awakened from severe muscle spasms in her legs still at a pain level of 10. Again, the attending nurse came to her aide and decided to page the attending physician again for a stronger muscle relaxant.
During this time, I was applying very strong massage pressure to help alleviate her pain with a slight effect. She then tried to stand up to help stretch the muscles but she was unable to stand due to the dizziness from the Zanaflex. The only thing she could do was lay there in severe pain while I tried to alleviate some of her pain through massage and deep breathing. The muscle spasm lasted for at least 5-10 minutes with minor relief. Thankfully, it stopped on its own which gave her some time to rest and Robaxin was given next to combat the muscle spasm.
Unfortunately, after only an hour of this medication, her muscle spasm again returned still with a pain level of 10. Again, I started to give her a strong pressure massage to help her with deep breathing. There was nothing she could do but lay there and cry and pray to God that the spasms would end. It was then when she began to correlate that the muscle spasms increased in frequency and pain when the Heparin drip was started. At this time, the attending Nurse was on break and Abayomi Lasode, RN had come to my mother’s aide. He then began to soothe my mom with kind words of assurance and listened intently to her concerns about all the medications that were being given. He focused on her never breaking his eye contact with her while trying to help during the situation. He then began to take over the massaging of my mother’s legs while continuing to give her calming words of relaxation, definitely making her feel heard and secure.
It was then that he noticed that she had been crying and tears were rolling down her cheeks, without any thought or word he stopped what he was doing and went to the sink to grab a cloth to wet then proceeded to wipe her tears away. As her daughter, to witness such a small act of kindness in such a high-stress situation meant the world to both of us. It was such a beautiful small gesture that had revealed to us that this man, this nurse was truly caring for someone he did not even know and it wasn’t just a job for him. I do believe he truly was concerned for a patient that was not even assigned to him. This level of care is above and beyond excellence. His compassion for another person is why he should be recognized and celebrated as a DAISY Award recipient. He continued to be at my mother’s bedside even after our attending nurse came back from break, and he became an advocate for aiding in my mother’s request to stop or reduce the Heparin.
Abayomi also brought a Sequential Compression Device (SCD) to aid her in the massage of her legs and also suggested IV fluids. Once these few things were administered, the muscle spasms were relieved and she was able to get the rest she desperately needed. Again, this was providing my mother with outstanding care even when Abayomi was not assigned to her care. I am recognizing him for his exceptional attentiveness to my mother.
However, her blood pressure remained high, and it was determined that she would be admitted to continue observing her. A heparin drip was started in preparation for a possible cardiac catheterization. Upon dispensing heparin drip, she began to experience leg muscle spasms with a pain level of 3-4 which was relieved after light massage and stretching. Her blood pressure continued to stay elevated regardless of the meds given so she was then admitted and transferred to the cardiology department to stay overnight.
As the night continued, her muscle spasms progressively got worse increasing her pain level to 10. Her attending nurse was able to contact the physician on call and she was given Zanaflex for the muscle cramping and the nurse assured her this should relieve the muscle spasms once the medication took effect. She was able to get some sleep for a little over an hour, however, she then awakened from severe muscle spasms in her legs still at a pain level of 10. Again, the attending nurse came to her aide and decided to page the attending physician again for a stronger muscle relaxant.
During this time, I was applying very strong massage pressure to help alleviate her pain with a slight effect. She then tried to stand up to help stretch the muscles but she was unable to stand due to the dizziness from the Zanaflex. The only thing she could do was lay there in severe pain while I tried to alleviate some of her pain through massage and deep breathing. The muscle spasm lasted for at least 5-10 minutes with minor relief. Thankfully, it stopped on its own which gave her some time to rest and Robaxin was given next to combat the muscle spasm.
Unfortunately, after only an hour of this medication, her muscle spasm again returned still with a pain level of 10. Again, I started to give her a strong pressure massage to help her with deep breathing. There was nothing she could do but lay there and cry and pray to God that the spasms would end. It was then when she began to correlate that the muscle spasms increased in frequency and pain when the Heparin drip was started. At this time, the attending Nurse was on break and Abayomi Lasode, RN had come to my mother’s aide. He then began to soothe my mom with kind words of assurance and listened intently to her concerns about all the medications that were being given. He focused on her never breaking his eye contact with her while trying to help during the situation. He then began to take over the massaging of my mother’s legs while continuing to give her calming words of relaxation, definitely making her feel heard and secure.
It was then that he noticed that she had been crying and tears were rolling down her cheeks, without any thought or word he stopped what he was doing and went to the sink to grab a cloth to wet then proceeded to wipe her tears away. As her daughter, to witness such a small act of kindness in such a high-stress situation meant the world to both of us. It was such a beautiful small gesture that had revealed to us that this man, this nurse was truly caring for someone he did not even know and it wasn’t just a job for him. I do believe he truly was concerned for a patient that was not even assigned to him. This level of care is above and beyond excellence. His compassion for another person is why he should be recognized and celebrated as a DAISY Award recipient. He continued to be at my mother’s bedside even after our attending nurse came back from break, and he became an advocate for aiding in my mother’s request to stop or reduce the Heparin.
Abayomi also brought a Sequential Compression Device (SCD) to aid her in the massage of her legs and also suggested IV fluids. Once these few things were administered, the muscle spasms were relieved and she was able to get the rest she desperately needed. Again, this was providing my mother with outstanding care even when Abayomi was not assigned to her care. I am recognizing him for his exceptional attentiveness to my mother.