I have had a few close calls with death in recent years. I have also had high blood pressure for decades and was on a number of meds, but it was controlled at Hypertensions 1 or 2 level. I have been suffering all year with inflammatory illnesses for which I am receiving infusions. So, when I was admitted and I was not responding to drugs to lower my pressure, I felt this might be near the end for me.

Brie Almeida was the day shift nurse, the day after I was admitted to Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Venice, Florida. She could sense my anxiety right at our first meeting. She took extra time with me and was very familiar with my case. She made sure to tell me repeatedly that she was there for me whenever I needed her. She was the first staff member who gave me a spark of hope that with finding the right medication combinations the doctors would ultimately get my blood pressure under control. And, hope is so important to a patient. She was positive, encouraging, calming and warm. She shared with me some of her family stories like coming from a large family, working hard, playing Division 1 college basketball and having a son who is a baseball prospect. She showed interest in me and my federal law enforcement career (long retired now). I felt that I was not simply another of the endless faces she must deal with for a shift, when in reality, that is what I was. I don’t know if her ability to make a real human connection with a suffering and anxious patient is just something that comes natural to her a rare talent or something she had to cultivate during her years of education and working as an RN. Or maybe a little of both. I felt she was rooting for me every time she came into the room to take my blood pressure or give me meds or just check in with me. And she was rooting for me!

When I was finally responding a bit, she was cheering me on, giving me a hug near the end of her shift I had the first glimpse of some response to the new meds. Although the next morning I was back with high BP. She told me that I was moving up to the Cardiac Unit. When the transport bed and staff arrived, she decided she was going to accompany the staff member to the fourth floor with me to do the hand off personally and make sure my continuity of treatment and knowledge base was seamless. She was even in the room with them when they took my vitals and when those were encouraging, and BP was starting to reduce she gave a little cheer and came over and hugged me goodbye. I was touched at the sincerity and humanness of this parting gesture. Brie has the true heart of a nurse.