I came in for a laminectomy. Alex was my night nurse. Shortly after he came on shift, I began having severe issues. I was hallucinating and become hysterical, pulling off my leads and ripping out my hair. I had even been beating myself in the head (none of which I recall). My husband ran to get Alex and he came to my side immediately. While in my room trying to figure out what was causing this, he noticed that my 9-year-old daughter was in the room and terrified. My 13-year-old autistic son came in during the events as well. Alex not only gave my health his 100% attention and finding the cause and getting it fixed, but he recognized these 2 scared children and spoke to them in plain, literal words and tones to help them understand and to calm down while he cared for me. The medication that the doctor ordered for my pain pump was causing an allergic reaction, causing the horrible side effects. He recognized it and quickly got the pump off and opened my fluids up to get it out of my system, and within 30 minutes I was lucid again and able to give the responses he needed to get my pain under control, while not putting me at any more risk.
This may read like it was just him doing his job, but it was more than that. The skill and care he showed were remarkable. That was the start of his shift, he checked on me constantly throughout the night making sure that every decision he made was exceptionally thorough and precise. This young man took care of me and my husband as if we were his family. He was so diligent and so informative that he made our decisions simple. Due to anxiety and stress, I couldn't sleep that night, but knowing that he stayed on top of my care even through the night made it better. When my day nurse came back on shift, he made sure that she knew every detail of the night so she could continue the excellent care. I have had 11 surgeries in the past and this experience was hands down the most amazing and I thank Alex for it.