Nurse Charles Brain is my new hero after Wednesday night. The last time I was in the Emergency Department at Waldo County General Hospital, I watched my father receive excellent medical care but still die. The last time I was there, I was transferred from WCGH to Bangor and then to Massachusetts General Hospital where my husband was told they could only keep me alive for 48 more hours. I was extremely lucky to receive a liver transplant and am doing great now. Still, I was very nervous about going to WCGH ED but the walk-in clinic had refused to see me because of fears that my symptoms (body aches, chills, and a fever of 100.5) were Covid. And since my transplant team had told me I needed to go to the ED immediately if my temperature went above 100.4 (which can signal the start of rejection), I went.

When Charles walked out and called my name, his calm spirit certainly helped me a little. Then he took me to a room to wait for the doctor. During that wait, my concern grew again. When the doctor left, Charles came in with supplies and said the doctor wanted my blood tested and a rapid Covid test done. I figured that meant a wait for a lab worker. No, Charles was going to take my blood. As he put the tourniquet on, he told me I would feel a little hug and then a little prick. I thought that was a bit corny, but he took my blood as well as any lab worker has ever done, and I didn’t feel much because I was stuck thinking about the “little hug and little prick”. While my blood filled the tube, he said I was a good sharer instead of like some people who don’t give him much. Again, sounds a bit corny, but it actually helped.

Then it was time for the Covid test. I’d never had one and had heard it hurt. He said it can be a bit uncomfortable but just imagine a caterpillar crawling up your nose. He was finished by the time I stopped thinking about that. Charles said the results of both should take around an hour, so he gave me a TV remote and told me to relax and watch TV. Probably less than half an hour later, he popped his head in and said the blood work looked really good! It wouldn’t have if I was starting a liver rejection as I was so afraid of. A little bit later, the Covid test came back negative. The doctor said the symptoms might have been from the rash (which later turned out to be an abscess) in my groin area and the new medication I was on. He gave me some powder for the rash and told me to check in with my PCP in the next couple of days.

While Charles got things ready for me to leave, I asked him if he had ever received the DAISY Award. He said he hadn’t and those usually go to nurses who work with inpatients or patients who are seen for a longer time than in the ED. That probably is the case, but during the two hours Charles was with me, he did an amazing job calming me down and treating me with compassion even though I didn’t tell him how nervous and upset I was. I have had many good nurses take care of me, and I think Charles is a bit extraordinary. He clearly is an excellent example of the skillful, compassionate care the DAISY Award is designed to honor.