Fran Pathuis
July 2019
Fran
Pathuis
,
BSN, RN
Float Pool
Overlake Medical Center
Bellevue
,
WA
United States
My mother-in-law came to Overlake with a postoperative abscess. An interventional radiologist installed a drain and sent her to the 5th Floor to recover. When she woke, she had serious problems; not only was her right leg numb, she was in "agonizing" pain and terrified.
Nurse Fran recognized the problem and said, "I'll get you help." On a night when things were clearly busy, she kept chasing down phone numbers, paging physicians and hunting for solutions. She even went so far as to bring in a nurse from the ED to do deeper diagnostics when she could get ahold of the doctor who installed the drain, or any other doctor who could help. The patient and my wife, who'd had a DVT/PE, were really scared that she might have had one. She was never impatient, and always reassuring and comforting—all without giving fake promises that things would be fine.
In the end, she managed to get ahold of the IR doctor who's installed the drain. After some troubleshooting, he decided the drain must be interfering with the patient's sciatic nerve and ordered it removed. Nurse Fran handled the whole process, we didn't even see the doctor until the next day when he came by to apologize. She was the one who ran down all the leads. She was the one who helped mom cope with finding herself peeing in her bed. She was the one who comforted Mom during the flares of pain, and during the "agonizing" pain as she removed the drain. She was the one who told mom what to expect from the nerve being shocked or damaged.
And during all of this, I heard her providing the same kind of care, support, and attention to other patients in the hall. Nurse Fran was the model of what I'd imagine in an ideal nurse; unfailing kind, honest, determined, and a ferocious patient advocate.
The whole nursing staff here on the 5th Floor have been excellent - I wish my brain wasn't so blurred after this week, because they all deserve recognition for their excellent care, attitudes, and sincere kindness. But Nurse Fran was the bright light that burned away the darkness on a very very stormy day.
Nurse Fran recognized the problem and said, "I'll get you help." On a night when things were clearly busy, she kept chasing down phone numbers, paging physicians and hunting for solutions. She even went so far as to bring in a nurse from the ED to do deeper diagnostics when she could get ahold of the doctor who installed the drain, or any other doctor who could help. The patient and my wife, who'd had a DVT/PE, were really scared that she might have had one. She was never impatient, and always reassuring and comforting—all without giving fake promises that things would be fine.
In the end, she managed to get ahold of the IR doctor who's installed the drain. After some troubleshooting, he decided the drain must be interfering with the patient's sciatic nerve and ordered it removed. Nurse Fran handled the whole process, we didn't even see the doctor until the next day when he came by to apologize. She was the one who ran down all the leads. She was the one who helped mom cope with finding herself peeing in her bed. She was the one who comforted Mom during the flares of pain, and during the "agonizing" pain as she removed the drain. She was the one who told mom what to expect from the nerve being shocked or damaged.
And during all of this, I heard her providing the same kind of care, support, and attention to other patients in the hall. Nurse Fran was the model of what I'd imagine in an ideal nurse; unfailing kind, honest, determined, and a ferocious patient advocate.
The whole nursing staff here on the 5th Floor have been excellent - I wish my brain wasn't so blurred after this week, because they all deserve recognition for their excellent care, attitudes, and sincere kindness. But Nurse Fran was the bright light that burned away the darkness on a very very stormy day.