My life-partner, T, was checked into the ER at St. Mary's Hospital. This visit led to admission to inpatient care for kidney stones and a severely infected kidney. I stayed at her side all night in the chair next to her bed. Below is the email that I sent out on Sunday morning to update friends and family around the country as to her condition.
"Oh what a night...
"T, though exhausted was finally getting some rest after stabilizing from events earlier in the day. At about 2:30AM, she woke me with complaints of stomach pain and chills. Our main nurse Jamie, carries a monitor with her. It alerts her ifT'sblood oxygen level drops below 90. Seconds after I heard the in-room alarm sound, Jamie appears and I see that the monitor says 86 and is dropping rapidly. She begins to check to insure the sensor on T's finger is intact and I watch as T begins trembling.
"Jamie, working even more quickly now and with defined purpose, suddenly stops and makes a phone call. I glance at the monitor and watch as the number tumbles to 75 and now appears to be in free fall.
"Only seconds pass and now two more staff enter the room. Then four. Now eight.I watch unfold what I later learn is anRRT(Rapid Response Team) in action. In action on our T.
"By the time (less than a minute) that a woman appears with a high-tech cart and begins administering oxygen, theLED read-out is in the 40's. There is some speculation that we may not be getting accurate readings as T's trembling could be throwing off the sensor. A secondary sensor is attached to her ear.
"After many adjustments, and now a total of 11 staff in the room, including three physicians, all with very specific tasks, her blood oxygen begins to climb and, over the next 10 minutes, levels in the high 90's.
"Over the following 15 minutes, another cart arrives and anEKGis administered. Another cart, and we all file out of the room as chest and abdominal X-rays are taken. In the hall, I notice the "crash" cart near the door. Then a blood draw. Jesus!
"She is doing much better now! Here is what we know as of this minute.
"T's oxygen levels are fine and her temperature is much better and stable. Her pulse, still a little elevated but stable her heart, lungs, and stomach are fine. We still have no real definitive answer on what exactly triggered last night's ride, but we suspect that she may have an infection in her blood. There were IV antibiotics with a broader spectrum administered early this morning, and "timed" blood draws for lab tests will show progression of the effects of the antibiotics. The blood cultures will take 48 hours, so we are here until at least Monday and hope to see the doctor late this morning. I'll give you more as I get it."
Had your teams, both in the ER as well as the entire Rapid Response Team not done their jobs with such precision, compassion, and professionalism, I fear that email would have had a radically different tone and that my life may have been very different today.
We would like to take a moment to acknowledge the roll of Jamie Wagner that morning. Not only did we find her care throughout the evening to be exceptional, but when it really mattered, Jamie was cool headed and decisive. She made the call for theRRT. I know that any of us may hesitate in our jobs to ask for help or to admit that the situation we find ourselves is beyond our own capabilities. With that in mind, along with some brief research of the origin, implementation, protocol, and challenges of a successfulRRTprogram, I can also imagine the added pressure involved in making that call.
Later that day, when Jamie came back on shift, we thanked her for her quick response and decisive action. In further conversation, we were shocked to learn this was only the secondRRT situation that she has been involved in over her two years as an RN. One certainly would not have guessed that based on her confident decision making and call to action. We then asked her if she went home that evening and told her husband that she was a hero. She very humbly replied "I don't discuss my work at home."
Even as I pen this note, still sitting bedsidein T'sroomon Monday evening, a call over the PA: "There is a medical emergency." I feel a sense of optimismfor the patient and their family knowing that they are in amazingly capable hands.
We are hopeful that this correspondence finds its way to Jamie and the entire Rapid Response Team that was involved that early Sunday morning. We would like them to know that how, in such a brief moment in time, they have touched our lives. On behalf of my life-partner T and me, please extend our most heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to Jamie and the entire team. I trust you are as proud to be affiliated with theseamazing professionalsas we are grateful that they were there for us.These are the folks that make our world a better place.