There was a patient who had a history of cancer and chemo who had expressed to her nurse Gabby that she was trying to grow her hair back out. During the course of her care, her wig had been dislodged and the patient had expressed to Gabby how she was embarrassed about her appearance.
Gabby took the time and went out of her way to find her Charge Nurse and asked if they could do something to make the patient more comfortable and at ease during her care. The charge nurse was able to find one or her clean bouffants that had a pretty design on it and gave it to the patient so that she would not have to be so worried and focused on her appearance and could focus on her health and care that was going on around her.
I feel that the care, time, and effort that Gabby and the charge nurse put into making sure this patient was comfortable during her stay in the ER made a true difference in this patient's experience at Hannibal Regional.
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We brought my mother to the ER to seek a second opinion from a recent fall and generalized weakness that was left undiagnosed from a previous hospital. We were blessed to have Gabby as our nurse throughout our time at Hannibal Regional.
To begin, Gabby was so kind to my mother which meant a lot because she didn't want to be there at all and she was terrified. She was gentle, kind, and even joked with my mom which lightened the situation. She had to be there to break the news that my mom had masses on her lungs, spine, and liver. Her compassion towards not only my mother but myself and dad meant so much to our family.
After being transferred to Columbia my mom was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer. We have a long, scary road ahead of us, but Gabby's compassion will stick with my family for years to come and we will be forever grateful.