Alexis Stutson
June 2022
Alexis
Stutson
,
RN
Medical Surgical Unit
St. Charles Parish Hospital
Luling
,
LA
United States
He felt that Alexis saved his life by understanding his struggles and finally someone understood where he was and went out of her way to find the support he needed.
There was a liver transplant patient that typically would have his care at VA hospital but was brought to our hospital instead due to the patient's need and bed availability. The patient had not been doing well since the transplant; he mentioned to me his inability to perform his duties as the man of the house and felt like he was a burden to his wife. He expressed his level of displeasure with regard to the response time from call light activation he was getting at our hospital. I apologized for everything that had been done and informed him that I would investigate his concerns.
Well, 2 days later I called the patient to inform him of the findings related to his complaints. He was very appreciative of the follow-up and wanted to fill me in on the actions of my nursing staff prior to his discharge. He went on to explain how he just wanted someone to listen and hear that he was at the end of his ropes without asking. For someone to hear what struggles he was dealing with. He said Alexis was one that heard him especially with her having a background in transplants. He said she was more than willing to listen and did so for at least an hour on one day and then a few other shorter occasions as well. He went on to say he told her he lost his insurance and was in the process of reapplying and expressed the hardships he was facing because of it. The fact that she understood the need for a therapy group he needed badly but knew the limitations of no insurance. He said Alexis took his concerns to our social worker and they found a local group for patients struggling mentally with post-transplant quality of life. It was a group that didn’t require insurance.
He said that was a pivotal point in his life. He said he had contemplated suicide several times and the only reason he hadn’t prior to coming into contact with Alexis was he didn’t want to waste the donor's organ. He felt that Alexis saved his life by understanding his struggles and finally someone understood where he was and went out of her way to find the support he needed. He was so grateful and was crying while explaining this all to me. He said she is a wonderful person and felt as if she was the angel he needed at one of the scariest times of his life.
Well, 2 days later I called the patient to inform him of the findings related to his complaints. He was very appreciative of the follow-up and wanted to fill me in on the actions of my nursing staff prior to his discharge. He went on to explain how he just wanted someone to listen and hear that he was at the end of his ropes without asking. For someone to hear what struggles he was dealing with. He said Alexis was one that heard him especially with her having a background in transplants. He said she was more than willing to listen and did so for at least an hour on one day and then a few other shorter occasions as well. He went on to say he told her he lost his insurance and was in the process of reapplying and expressed the hardships he was facing because of it. The fact that she understood the need for a therapy group he needed badly but knew the limitations of no insurance. He said Alexis took his concerns to our social worker and they found a local group for patients struggling mentally with post-transplant quality of life. It was a group that didn’t require insurance.
He said that was a pivotal point in his life. He said he had contemplated suicide several times and the only reason he hadn’t prior to coming into contact with Alexis was he didn’t want to waste the donor's organ. He felt that Alexis saved his life by understanding his struggles and finally someone understood where he was and went out of her way to find the support he needed. He was so grateful and was crying while explaining this all to me. He said she is a wonderful person and felt as if she was the angel he needed at one of the scariest times of his life.