My mom was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in her colon while she was in the hospital being treated for pneumonia. She has been very sick this year and has had many visits to Carle Foundation Hospital. My mom has COPD, among many other health complications, and has been told by doctors on multiple occasions that she probably would not be able to handle being put under anesthesia because of her lung issues. So the idea of needing surgery to remove this tumor was scary, to say the least.

Carle staff started the process of scheduling the removal of the tumor. Early Sunday morning, they began seeing blood in her stools. The night nurse noticed the blood in the first couple of stools but did not think it was alarming because of her recent colonoscopy. Sunday morning, our Super Woman nurse, Katie, came in, and after the first stool was concerned about the blood. After the second stool with blood, she immediately started working her magic.

Katie began making calls to doctors and getting the proper staff and items in place to resolve my mom’s issue. While at my mom’s bedside, Katie was talking with the doctors, explaining the situation, and had staff there right away to assess and determine that an emergent surgery was needed to remove the tumor. Katie stayed by my mom’s bedside most of the day, getting everything prepped, tests scheduled, IVs inserted, and more.

My mom can be a very difficult patient emotionally, and Katie kept my mind at ease the whole time while directing traffic for all the pre-op work that needed to be done. She knew exactly when my mom needed comfort and when she needed someone strong to talk with her. I have been in the healthcare field for many years, and we have had amazing nursing care here at Carle, but I have not seen a nurse so on top of her game and with such a wonderful bedside manner. She made my mom feel at ease during such a difficult day.

Katie also kept our family informed every step of the way, explaining current steps and next steps. She did not miss a beat. When doctors came in and needed something ordered, or even asked her how to get something ordered, she would say, “I can do it,” and jump on the phone to make it happen.

Mom’s surgery was successful, and she was even able to come back to her same room just before Katie’s shift was over. I believe Katie stayed well after her shift ended, most likely because of all the work she had done with my mom, leaving her behind on charting and other tasks, but she never said a word. She was still there well into the evening.

She meant so much to my mom that when she introduced the night nurse, my mom asked if she could just stay. I have never heard my mom say that before in all of her visits. I cannot say enough or even fully express how much this angel of a nurse meant to my mom and our family. She took charge when she needed to and did so with dignity and compassion the entire way through. We are so happy she is part of the Carle staff and feel so lucky she was taking care of my mom that Sunday. We cannot thank her enough.