Kathleen Omelina
September 2023
Kathleen
Omelina
,
BSN, RN
Float Staff
UW Health University Hospital
Madison
,
WI
United States
I know Kathleen didn't have to make that effort to bring us there, to trust us alone, to give us that moment, but I'll continue to be grateful for her showing up on that day in our lives.
Kathleen was exactly the nurse we needed and wanted. Her kindness, expertise, playfulness, and creativity made her my favorite nurse of the entire stay. She had detailed knowledge of the things we were asking, and for everything else she was willing to find the answer. Her depth of passion for her job, her patients, and her future as an NP was apparent in her eyes and demeanor each time she was in our room. The day we met Kathleen was just after a rather rough day, when spirits were down, and her jokes and teasing landed perfectly in our hearts. Helping us feel cared for by a real person.
My two most memorable moments of staying with my husband during his open heart surgery are 1) sitting for hours in the surgical waiting area...feeling like my world was spinning, my mind racing, my heart pounding, looking up at the sunlight streaming in the glass ceiling to help me hold back my tears... the clerk coming over to tell me he was now on the bypass machine...and then, not being able to hold back my tears anymore. And 2) walking with Kathleen to the 4th floor outdoor garden...we had wanted to visit there on our previous visits to the cardiovascular clinic when preparing for surgery but we couldn't get in without a badge...Kathleen asked, "Do you want to be a real person today? Do you want to go outside?"... She didn't insist on babying him, allowing him to trust his body and walk the whole way. She opened the door to the garden and let us walk in alone. We promised to be back within 30 min and then walked away, giggling, holding hands. Sitting there, surrounded by such beauty, the well-tended and colorful garden, structural art pieces, shaded seats scattered, and walking paths bathed in sunlight, I finally felt like everything was going to be okay.
I know Kathleen didn't have to make that effort to bring us there, to trust us alone, to give us that moment, but I'll continue to be grateful for her showing up on that day in our lives. I am so happy to think of all the patients she is having this impact on each time she works, all the lives she's touching with her gift of caring. Thank you, Kathleen, from my whole heart.
My two most memorable moments of staying with my husband during his open heart surgery are 1) sitting for hours in the surgical waiting area...feeling like my world was spinning, my mind racing, my heart pounding, looking up at the sunlight streaming in the glass ceiling to help me hold back my tears... the clerk coming over to tell me he was now on the bypass machine...and then, not being able to hold back my tears anymore. And 2) walking with Kathleen to the 4th floor outdoor garden...we had wanted to visit there on our previous visits to the cardiovascular clinic when preparing for surgery but we couldn't get in without a badge...Kathleen asked, "Do you want to be a real person today? Do you want to go outside?"... She didn't insist on babying him, allowing him to trust his body and walk the whole way. She opened the door to the garden and let us walk in alone. We promised to be back within 30 min and then walked away, giggling, holding hands. Sitting there, surrounded by such beauty, the well-tended and colorful garden, structural art pieces, shaded seats scattered, and walking paths bathed in sunlight, I finally felt like everything was going to be okay.
I know Kathleen didn't have to make that effort to bring us there, to trust us alone, to give us that moment, but I'll continue to be grateful for her showing up on that day in our lives. I am so happy to think of all the patients she is having this impact on each time she works, all the lives she's touching with her gift of caring. Thank you, Kathleen, from my whole heart.