Jennifer "Reagan" Graham
June 2024
Jennifer "Reagan"
Graham
,
BSN, RN
Inpatient Oncology
Regional One Health
Memphis
,
TN
United States

 

 

 

We hugged and held hands, and she thanked God for Reagan's kindness, dedication to service, and commitment to making her feel valued as a person, wife, and patient.
When completing Nurse Leader Patient Rounds, I spoke with Mrs. Y As I sat with her, she shared her story from diagnosis to current state. Mrs. Y worked as a Registered Nurse for 45 years and 3 weeks into retirement, received a diagnosis of liver cancer. Due to the rarity of this diagnosis, her liver biopsy samples were sent to four different academic medical centers before pathology, surgical, and chemotherapy treatment plans were established. She spoke to the anxiety, frustration, and uncertainty regarding being diagnosed with such a rare disease. Mrs. Y indicated visiting several areas within Regional One Health before arriving to Rout 6 and meeting Reagan. As tears began to fill her eyes, she stated, "Yesterday was the first day I've felt human and received care as a living human being." Mrs. Y stated Reagan remained over at the end of her shift to collaborate with the night shift Registered Nurse, ensuring her pain management regimen would be conducive to meeting her pain goal. Reagan collaborated with the WOCN team to ensure the patient's ostomy supplies were efficient and fitted properly. Mrs. Y stated Reagan ensured she was clean and dry and secured the collection device before leaving for the night. The previous night was the first night Mrs. Y verbalized having a great night's rest and adequate pain relief. Reagan assured the patient’s husband that his wife would be safe in our care, which provided him the opportunity to travel home, shower, and sleep in a comfortable bed since she began treatment. Mrs. Y stated the following morning, upon her husband's return, Reagan collaborated with him and the nutritionists to ensure she had food options readily available to support a neutropenic and low-residue diet. Reagan printed out visuals, pictures, and stores to purchase the items. During this round, Mrs. Y's husband was out grocery shopping with all the assistance and directives Reagan provided. She stated Reagan helped to eliminate certain fears she and her had her husband had due to restricted diet options. As we ended the round, Mrs. Y asked if she could pray for Reagan and the Oncology team. We hugged and held hands, and she thanked God for Reagan's kindness, dedication to service, and commitment to making her feel valued as a person, wife, and patient. Lastly, Mrs. Y stated that meeting Reagan and her willingness to go the extra mile gave her inspiration to live and persevere.