February 2023
Dillon
LeSieur
,
RN
Patient Care Support
PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center
Vancouver
,
WA
United States
There were many things that went well and directly contributed to the survival of this patient, and one of the primary ones was Dillon.
Here in the Family Birth Center, we are no strangers to emergent situations; we staff our own O.R., and triage area, and have no idea what may present on our doorstep at any given moment. We deal with hemorrhages, hypertensive crises, and potentially septic patients. However, it is rare that we have an adult patient who comes as close to death as one of ours did recently, and we must give credit for the many lifesaving measures taken by Dillon of the RRT.
When this patient, who had just delivered her first baby, began decompensating and her vital signs were significant, our nurses called for the Rapid Response Team to come. Once Dillon arrived, he quickly recognized the severity of the patient’s condition, and began intervening; when the Massive Transfusion Protocol was activated, the knowledge and speed with which he acted to get blood products into this patient were phenomenal. He continued caring for her throughout a second (& third!) surgery, and when there was no ICU bed available, he stayed at the bedside while she was ventilated and continued to be unstable. He demonstrated leadership, expertise, and a calm demeanor while working closely with the multiple doctors, anesthesia team, blood bank, and our bedside RNs to attempt to hemodynamically stabilize the patient.
When it became clear that was not occurring, a second MTP was called, and when the rapid infuser was no longer functional, Dillon and T worked to troubleshoot and quickly decided to obtain a second machine. After a third surgery in the Main O.R., with a total blood loss of at least 8 liters, the patient was stabilized and was even able to hold her newborn in the ICU that same night. During the entirety of the critical situation, Dillon was present and working hard for this patient. There were many things that went well and directly contributed to the survival of this patient, and one of the primary ones was Dillon. He provided expert care of this critical patient for several hours, and the RNs from the FBC supporting his team were grateful for and confident in his abilities.
When this patient, who had just delivered her first baby, began decompensating and her vital signs were significant, our nurses called for the Rapid Response Team to come. Once Dillon arrived, he quickly recognized the severity of the patient’s condition, and began intervening; when the Massive Transfusion Protocol was activated, the knowledge and speed with which he acted to get blood products into this patient were phenomenal. He continued caring for her throughout a second (& third!) surgery, and when there was no ICU bed available, he stayed at the bedside while she was ventilated and continued to be unstable. He demonstrated leadership, expertise, and a calm demeanor while working closely with the multiple doctors, anesthesia team, blood bank, and our bedside RNs to attempt to hemodynamically stabilize the patient.
When it became clear that was not occurring, a second MTP was called, and when the rapid infuser was no longer functional, Dillon and T worked to troubleshoot and quickly decided to obtain a second machine. After a third surgery in the Main O.R., with a total blood loss of at least 8 liters, the patient was stabilized and was even able to hold her newborn in the ICU that same night. During the entirety of the critical situation, Dillon was present and working hard for this patient. There were many things that went well and directly contributed to the survival of this patient, and one of the primary ones was Dillon. He provided expert care of this critical patient for several hours, and the RNs from the FBC supporting his team were grateful for and confident in his abilities.