I was a patient in the ICU. First off let me state all the nursing staff was exceptional, however, Amanda stands above all the rest as far as I'm concerned.
The first time I saw her, I didn't know her name. It was Monday evening. I had a bad reaction to a new heart medication. I became very tired at about 6:00 pm. I was trying to take a nap when I heard my monitor start to beep. I remember seeing my blood pressure down at 70/39. That was about the time multiple medical personnel came into my room. I don't remember a lot. I just remember freezing, feeling sick to my stomach and very tired. But I kept hearing people in the room say she is in congestive heart failure and I would say "no, I'm not. My doctor didn't tell me I was." I heard someone say she would verify the diagnosis. A short time later, I remember a nurse coming around to the other side of my bed and told me she had verified the diagnosis. It was explained to me they needed to put a central line into my neck to give me medication to keep blood flowing to my organs.
The next day, Tuesday, I was able to discuss my diagnosis with my cardiologist. A nurse stopped in and introduced herself. She said her name was Amanda and she had been in and out the night before. She just wanted to say hi and see how I was feeling.
On Wednesday evening, Amanda was my nurse. She came in and did all the usual things. She told me she was going to change the bandage that was securing the central line in my neck. After looking at it, she told me it would probably pull my hair when she took it off. She used rubbing alcohol to ease the pulling of my hair and kept me occupied with questions and stories. She told me about her horses and her daughter. We got to talking about all that had been going on Monday night. It was then she told me she was the one who had verified my diagnosis because I had been so adamant that I was not in congestive heart failure. She asked if I had received any information regarding congestive heart failure and I said not really. I did get some handouts on Cardiac Rehabilitation, low saturated fat and sodium diet, and cholesterol numbers. She said she knew about a booklet that Aurora put out about living with heart failure and would try to find one for me. She did and gave it to me.
I was still being weaned off of Dopamine drip from Monday night. I wasn't sleeping well and she happened to come in while I was sitting on the side of the bed. She asked if there was anything wrong. I told her I had put the bed all the way down and my acid reflux was acting up slightly. She went to find out if she could give me an antacid. She came back a short time later with an antacid. She continued coming in and checking on me and slowly weaning me off the Dopamine drip. I believe I was finally off the Dopamine drip about 2:00 am Thursday morning. Amanda told me she would be leaving early in the morning. She was going to Nashville for the weekend with family. But another nurse was coming in early to cover her shift. The other nurse told me Thursday afternoon that Amanda told him to let me be if I was sleeping in the morning as I hadn't had much sleep the night before.
I appreciate all the wonderful care I was given in ICU by everyone during my recent stay. Thank you for the opportunity to recognize Amanda. In my opinion, she went way above and beyond her job description. Don't let her get away! She is absolutely amazing!