Late last Friday afternoon, I had a hysterectomy at Swedish. The surgery got off to a late start and was done to complete the staging of my (now confirmed) stage 1A ovarian cancer. It was a stressful time for me. What could have been an extremely stressful night was made so much more tolerable by the incredible nursing care that I received from Cami. I awoke at about 9pm. In order to be discharged (which I thought was going to be on Friday night) I had to pee. However, due to having a catheter during the surgery, this turned out to be a difficult task. While trying to pee, I vomited several times, and I asked Cami to look at my vomit because it looked like there was blood in my vomit. She was supportive and reassuring. Eventually, after many unsuccessful attempts to pee, and a lot of stress on my part, Cami inserted a catheter at the bedside in order to relieve the pressure on my bladder. The care and compassion that she showed during this process were amazing. After the procedure, she hooked me up to IV fluids and I fell asleep. When I awoke later, I was finally able to urinate. When I told her the news, she was amazingly supportive and encouraging.

At that time, it was clear that it was too late for me to go home, so I spent my first night ever in a hospital room. All night, I could hear call bells going off. Yet Cami responded to my not-infrequent requests with the utmost attentiveness. I wanted to take the time to reach out to you to convey how touched I was by the degree of compassion and the kindness of the care that Cami provided. It was a complicated night, and I needed a lot of attention. When I think about the fact that she had several rooms of people in complicated situations, and responded to them all night long, I am amazed. Each one of my requests for assistance was greeted with kindness and patience. The care that she gave me was intimate, yet she enabled me to maintain my dignity at every step of the way.

When the shift changed at 7 am, I was sad to see her go. I left shortly thereafter, but she made a lasting impression on me. She made what could have been a scary night so much more tolerable. I had never seen firsthand how hard nurses work. I am so grateful for the care that I received that night. She made a lasting impression and I want her to know that.