July 2015
Chelsea
Speerly
,
RN, BSN
Adult Cardiac ICU
OSF Saint Francis Medical Center
Peoria
,
IL
United States

 

 

 

My grandma and grandpa were both extremely nervous about his upcoming valve replacement. With the added stress of my grandma finishing up her chemo, and my grandpa being newly retired the unexpected need for this surgery threw them a very emotional curve ball. I knew that the recovery period was going to be even more stressful for both of them. My grandma is very much a worry wart and needed the reassurance that everything was progressing well. I stayed with my grandparents the night after the surgery to help assure both of them that everything was going smooth and encourage my grandpa to continue doing well. It was not until Chelsea came to care for my grandpa that I felt that my grandparents felt comfortable and that they would get through this.

Chelsea was compassionate and caring, yet informative and pushed my grandpa to reach his post-surgery goals for the day. I felt as though she really thought of my grandpa as someone's family member and not just another patient. Being a nurse myself, I know how difficult it can be to break away from the day to day routines and take it a step further to make sure patients feel safe and to build a therapeutic nurse-patient relationship among the other duties required. Chelsea was consistent in her care, spent the time to educate my grandpa and my grandma and speak to them about what to expect next. My grandpa still speaks so highly about her even now weeks after his surgery.

Please acknowledge Chelsea for her excellent care and compassion that she demonstrated to my grandfather that day.