I was a patient in the Med/Surg unit for three weeks. While I would like to commend the entire nursing staff of this unit for their professionalism, empathy, kindness, caring, and compassion while caring for me, there was one nurse who really stands out.
Gagandeep, known by her coworkers simply as "Deep," was not actually assigned to this unit or to care for me. She was called to the unit to assist me because of her specialized training and experience. Deep was called to replace my existing IV line with a new line using ultrasound on one occasion. She was called a second time near the end of my stay to insert a "central line," which turned out to be a blessing in disguise for me.
On my 16th day of treatment, I began to go downhill medically. I got noticeably sicker and was barely able to sleep that night. It did not appear to me that treatment was helping or doing much of anything. Being ill for almost 6 weeks total at this point and in chronic pain the entire time, I was absolutely miserable.
On the morning of the 17th day, I was told that I was going to be transferred to another hospital in Seattle for treatment by specialists. Needless to say, this didn't leave me in a particularly good frame of mind. In my mind, I knew that being transferred to see specialists in another hospital meant that my condition was far worse and far more serious than I thought it was. Physically, I felt the worst I had since getting sick. I felt physically weak, dependent and vulnerable, something I am definitely not used to. In short, it did not appear that things would get better any time soon. While I think calling my mood that morning depressed or saying that I felt hopeless would be a bit overly dramatic and inaccurate, it is probably closer to the truth than simply saying I was "feeling very sorry for myself."
A short time after learning about the transfer of care, Deep walked into my room. She told me that I was scheduled for an imaging study and that after the study was finished, she would be inserting a central line. She explained briefly what that meant, what would happen when she did so, and she answered my questions. Then she just talked with me for a few minutes. Deep was so kind, upbeat, personable and cheerful that she managed to lift my spirits from literally their lowest point since being admitted. I often joke that I am "allergic to needles." Heights and hypodermic needles are the two things that are absolutely guaranteed to set my heart to racing, to make me lightheaded and sometimes even sick to my stomach. Despite my fear of needles, I was actually looking forward to Deep's return later in the morning.
Deep was an absolute "ray of sunshine" on what felt like a very dark and dreary day. For a few minutes, I wasn't thinking about how rotten I felt, about how unpleasant the coming day appeared it was likely to be, about getting stuck with yet another needle, more tests or even the pending transfer of care to another facility. Deep managed to lift my spirits pretty significantly, helping me mentally and emotionally on what was literally my worst day as a patient. It is well known how important a positive mental attitude is to a patient's recovery and the simple act of talking to me for a few minutes that morning made such a profound and positive impact on my mental state for the remainder of the day that I actually felt better when she left my room. In my opinion, it was the best medicine of all.
I can't adequately express my thanks to her for the kindness and compassion she showed me that day. I do want to let her, and her supervisors, know how much of an impact she had on my mental, emotional and even physical wellbeing that morning. From the bottom of my heart, Thank You!