My niece was a patient at Nebraska Medicine on 6 Neuro during her stay. She was airlifted to Nebraska Medicine from a small hospital in Iowa two days after having her wisdom teeth extracted. She developed severe cellulitis of her face and neck.
Her second night on 6 Neuro, things took a turn for the worse around midnight. Her blood pressure dropped, temp and heart rate were climbing, and the infection was traveling further down her neck. The doctors were not only concerned but confused at the rapid spread of the infection. The swelling was so extensive and they started to worry about her airway.
We were so lucky to have Ashley as our nurse that night. She didn't miss a beat. She was hanging multiple antibiotics, giving fluid boluses, pain meds, taking more frequent vital signs, taking her for a stat CT scan, updating doctors, updating us, and taking multiple verbal orders from the four physicians at the bedside. Finally, after about four hours of that, the doctors sent my niece to ICU.
One of the most important things Ashley did that night was to make us feel like my niece was her only patient, although I happen to know she also had three other patients. She maintained a calm demeanor through it all, and I knew we were in very capable hands. It's not always the technical skills that make the biggest impression. Sometimes it's the way you "care" for the person. Ashley is a very caring and compassionate nurse.
"People forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget the way you made them feel." - Maya Angelou
Ashley, we will never forget how you made us feel. You are an amazing nurse.