December 2021
Andrea
Hopkins
,
BSN, RN
Cornell 2
Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital
Charlottesville
,
VA
United States
I was pretty sure I was dying and I still believe if it hadn’t been for her acute assessment skills, I would have never survived that night.
I was very ill with sepsis, cholangitis, pancreatitis, and hepatitis from a blocked bile duct. Between having yellow eyes, nearly black urine, a fever of 103.8, and almost non-stop pain at a 9 or 10 out of 10, I was not the pleasant, kind, patient, and friendly person I normally am. As an RN myself, I have great empathy and understanding for the busy schedule nurses keep. It was so upsetting to me that due to the agony I was in that I found myself irritable and ugly to staff. God blessed me with the most understanding nurse in Andrea for several nights. While she cared for me, my pain was well-managed and I could actually feel like I was back to my usual kind personality. One night she cared for me, she became a blur as my fever soared to 103.8 and my blood sugar plummeted to 38. I became incoherent, but I remember flashes of her face – her and the P.A. as I was covered with a cooling blanket…another flash as Glucagon was being administered…another flash & memory of saying “I have to go to the bathroom” and a device being placed so I could urinate without getting up. Another flash…a fingerstick being done. And then, suddenly, I felt awake and alert again – “You’re back!” she cried with a smile and she seemed so happy. I have to say that I was so very sick that I felt myself fading away. I was pretty sure I was dying and I still believe if it hadn’t been for her acute assessment skills, I would have never survived that night. Andrea saw I was not well and she kept investigating and gathering more data until she got me the help I needed. She and the PA and my nurse's aide were the only things that kept me in this world that night, and I will always be forever grateful that they saw past the irritability of a person who was at their worst to still provide the very best of nursing care. And for that, Andrea is a DAISY NUrse. Thank you! Real healers to real people.