Katie Bickell
November 2018
Katie
Bickell
,
RN, BSN
Cardio Clinic
Overlake Medical Center
Bellevue
,
WA
United States
With pretend courage, I accepted the gift of a new BiVICD pacemaker defibrillator. It was hard won, with the doctor taking 5 hours to thread the dreaded third wire through my heart. But he did it! His perseverance extended my life by many years.
Made speechless by his amazing character and skill, ten days later I met Katie Bickell at my device check-up. She completely blew me out of the water!
Remembering me from a community activity, Katie greeted me by my full name and a huge smile! Talk about putting me ease! Her warmth and delightful sense of humor kept me laughing through my device check. My heart sped up? No problem, I was laughing with Katie. Between laughs, I watched her work seamlessly with the highly professional nurse practitioner testing my device. Katie was steady, focused, and expert in her clinical observations and advice. They worked like one person interpreting my results and resetting the device.
Talking about my long implantation and deep gratitude to the doctor for not giving up on me, I told Katie I would probably cry. She smiled warmly and welcomed me to do so. As I wept some, she quietly closed the clinic doors and sat with me. She allowed me to feel completely comfortable expressing my fear and gratitude.
Soon I got to my list of questions, including how many good years I had left. Without skipping a beat, Katie encouraged me by casually saying until I got my battery changed in eight years or so, and beyond! Wow! My mood lifted. She took another hour to answer my questions, educate me on how the Latitude machine works, explain my change in medicine, outline how long full recovery takes, and reassure me of the careful communication between them and my regular cardiologist. To top it all, she explained she is the person reading my Latitude mail. I left confident I am in good hands!
In our talks, I also learned how much she loves her job, working in cardiac health for 17 years, and on weekends prefers to study about the heart than party! When I told her to get a life, she said this is her life and she loves it! Overlake, as you already know, Katie is one heckuva dedicated, professional, valuable nurse.
Thank you, Katie, for your ability to deliver extraordinary service, compassionate care, and exceptional teamwork. She exemplifies the wide scope of professional nursing.
Made speechless by his amazing character and skill, ten days later I met Katie Bickell at my device check-up. She completely blew me out of the water!
Remembering me from a community activity, Katie greeted me by my full name and a huge smile! Talk about putting me ease! Her warmth and delightful sense of humor kept me laughing through my device check. My heart sped up? No problem, I was laughing with Katie. Between laughs, I watched her work seamlessly with the highly professional nurse practitioner testing my device. Katie was steady, focused, and expert in her clinical observations and advice. They worked like one person interpreting my results and resetting the device.
Talking about my long implantation and deep gratitude to the doctor for not giving up on me, I told Katie I would probably cry. She smiled warmly and welcomed me to do so. As I wept some, she quietly closed the clinic doors and sat with me. She allowed me to feel completely comfortable expressing my fear and gratitude.
Soon I got to my list of questions, including how many good years I had left. Without skipping a beat, Katie encouraged me by casually saying until I got my battery changed in eight years or so, and beyond! Wow! My mood lifted. She took another hour to answer my questions, educate me on how the Latitude machine works, explain my change in medicine, outline how long full recovery takes, and reassure me of the careful communication between them and my regular cardiologist. To top it all, she explained she is the person reading my Latitude mail. I left confident I am in good hands!
In our talks, I also learned how much she loves her job, working in cardiac health for 17 years, and on weekends prefers to study about the heart than party! When I told her to get a life, she said this is her life and she loves it! Overlake, as you already know, Katie is one heckuva dedicated, professional, valuable nurse.
Thank you, Katie, for your ability to deliver extraordinary service, compassionate care, and exceptional teamwork. She exemplifies the wide scope of professional nursing.