I am the Oncology Clinical Educator here at Cooper University Hospital and unfortunately, I found myself needing coronary bypass surgery at the age of 58. I have been an insulin-dependent diabetic since I was 12 years old so after 47 years of living with diabetes, my body needed some help.
To say that I was a little scared is quite an understatement. I was scared to death, but not as much for myself as I was for my family, especially my husband and kids. I knew that I was in good hands, but they didn't have that same level of comfort.
I have been a registered nurse since 1981 and I have loved every minute of my career. Taking care of patients is truly what I was meant to do in life. It was very difficult to go from being the caregiver to being the patient. One of my biggest fears was waking up intubated but I knew that this was necessary for my recovery; again, I was more worried about my family being frightened seeing me this way.
Fast forward to waking up in the ICU post-op intubated. The first thing that I heard was a kind, caring voice telling me that my surgery was over and that I was now in the ICU. That same voice told me that I was indeed intubated, and she reminded me that I needed to breathe through my mouth in order to fill my lungs and facilitate getting extubated. I was aware of the ET tube in my throat, but it felt more like a straw rather than a garden hose as some patients have described to me in the past.
I was not uncomfortable but rather calm and sedated until that same sweet voice said to me that my family was here in the room and when I looked at their faces, all I saw was fear. That broke my heart. At that moment I wasn't able to give them the comfort that they desperately needed but then that same caring voice spoke up and explained to my husband and children why I was still intubated and that I was comfortable. She calmly explained all the tubes and drains and gave my family what they needed. When I saw the relief on their faces, I closed my eyes and went back to sleep. I knew that they were okay. That was the most important thing to me at the time. When I woke up hours later, I was extubated and I met the voice, my nurse, Jennifer Orr.
Over the next day and a half, Jennifer was my nurse. She never assumed because I was a nurse that I knew what to expect. She explained everything to me, encouraged me and as each tube came out, she would celebrate the little victories of recovery with me.
I'm sure that many would say that she was just doing her job, but it was so much more than that to me. I and my family needed help and she was there for us. Jennifer made a meaningful difference in the care of all of us. I will never forget her. She was our angel!