I was admitted to the Med/Surg Unit from the ED and spent eight days at Banner Baywood. Other than being a seven-year cancer survivor, I have had no other health scares in my life and have always been relatively healthy. I was completely caught off guard when I heard the diagnosis. First and foremost, I want to be sure to share that every single nurse, CNA, lab, transport, imaging, housekeeping, pre-op, and post-op who came in contact with me did a wonderful job. Everyone was so kind, caring, and knowledgeable. I had the very best clinical oversight with the hospitalist team. The one nurse who really stood out to me as exceptional, experienced, and compassionate is Jonathan Gallo. I was blessed to have him on several of my overnight shifts.

In all my interactions with Jonathan, he was always extremely kind, compassionate, and experienced. His humor and laugh lifted my spirits! When he came into my room, he never appeared rushed, which made me feel as though I was his only patient. He would not leave my room until all of my questions were answered and I was comfortable. Saturday was the night that he really made a huge difference.

Unfortunately, due to my cancer history, I was not able to have IVs, blood draws, or blood pressure in my left arm. The longer I stayed in the hospital, the harder it became to find my veins. Starting Thursday morning, my current IV site started failing, and one IV even infiltrated my forearm. After several failed attempts by various personnel, they were unable to restart my IV successfully. By Saturday evening, with no IV access, I had become very discouraged and depressed and began having anxiety as I was waiting for the SWAT team to attempt a new IV.

Then Jonathan came on duty. I shared with him how nervous I was that we would not be able to get IV access and concerned that I would not be able to continue with my IV antibiotics and fluids, knowing that I was going to have a procedure in the morning. Jonathan showed empathy for my situation and asked if he could try getting an IV with the assistance of the ultrasound. At this point, I had absolute 100% confidence in Jonathan’s skill level and reassurance. Jonathan showed great poise and confidence and was immediately able to access a vein in the area that had infiltrated prior, with barely any discomfort at all! I was so happy, I had tears of joy! This IV site stayed viable throughout the procedure and lasted until I was discharged home. Jonathan was my guardian angel!