colleen speaker, RN

I am 59 years old. I have not been in the hospital for over 30 years. For that matter, I haven't even had a physical in 30 years. Going to the doctor is my least favorite thing to do! Recently, I came to Community East in pretty bad shape with a pretty bad dislike for why I was here. Two weeks before, I had decided to have a physical and it was discovered that I had high blood pressure. I was put on medicine for high blood pressure then. I felt sick as soon as I started taking it. Everyone told me it was common and it would take a while to get used to it. So, I just ignored how I was feeling and kept taking it. One day, right after taking it, I passed out and fell face first onto the floor. My wife, in turn, called an ambulance. I was brought to the hospital and found out I was in full renal failure. I also had a black eye and a sore back. I just didn't feel well at all. I was admitted and put in a room on PCU. I got there around 7:00 pm at which point I was introduced to two nurses. I wasn't in a very good mood and didn't have very many nice words to say about the doctor who had prescribed the medications to me. And I just didn't feel good at all. I was pretty much complaining about everything by this point. Through all this, this young lady, Colleen, kept a very professional attitude and continued to give me the very best care. That night was a very long, miserable night for me due to how I felt and the lab people waking me up and being woke up for vital checks. It seemed every time I got to sleep someone was waking me up for one reason or another. As that long night drew on, I realized this was not just a job to this young lady but that she really cared about what she was doing. I almost had to pinch myself to remind myself that I was not at home and remind myself that it was not my mother taking care of me. Colleen is a credit to her profession and a true DAISY Nurse.