Katie H. was our nurse for two days while we were in MICU. She is a phenomenal nurse and a wonderful advocate for her patients, and I believe she should be recognized for her talent and passion as a nurse. My husband has brain cancer and was just completing his 6 week course of radiation and chemo when he had an emergent situation which required emergency surgery to repair his bowel. Prior to this surgery, he had moderate expressive aphasia because of the tumor, and then the radiation affected his speech and memory even more. At times, this made it more difficult for him to communicate his needs and wishes on his own.

Adequate pain management was an issue postoperatively for my husband as a PCA was ordered but my husband couldn’t understand that he needed to push the button if he was in pain, so he would wake up in severe pain and need to be coached to push the PCA button…this plan was not effective in controlling his pain. Katie contacted multiple people, multiple times, for HOURS to advocate for a basal rate on his PCA to help give him steady pain control instead of something that he had to think about doing to get himself out of pain. Throughout the whole frustrating process, Katie continued to be persistent, thoughtful and kind to the medical team while advocating for my husband throughout the morning. We finally got a basal rate and had a much-needed pain-free afternoon, which allowed my husband to rest more comfortably and even afforded him a smile.

The next day, Katie was our nurse again, and it was such a comforting feeling to know that we had a nurse who would truly advocate for my husband and be patient with him while he was trying to express himself. I have gotten used to his expressive aphasia and can figure out what he’s trying to say relatively easy but not everyone is used to our new way of communication and doesn’t always know what he needs at the time he needs it.

For two days, Katie was so patient, unbelievably kind and encouraging to my husband. She encouraged him to keep trying to find the words and she would tell him to take his time to find them. Not everyone who came into our room took the time to do the same and let him try to talk to them, they seemed rushed, and looked to me for the answers to the questions they first asked him so they could hurry along with their day. I get that people are busy, and may not always take the time to think about how they make others feel but I also don’t understand because my husband still has a voice and opinion, even if it takes him a little longer than normal to make it known. Thankfully, Katie never once rushed him to say what he was trying to say, and she never once treated him like she didn’t have time to listen to him, and he knew that she would take the time to listen. Katie knew that he knew what he wanted to say but was struggling to find the words and was compassionate and patient enough to give him the extra time he needed.

Sometimes a simple thank you doesn’t seem like it is adequate enough to express the gratitude we feel for the people who do the thankless jobs of the world but, THANK YOU Katie H!! I could list multiple reasons to thank you but I mainly want to say thank you for taking such great care of my husband and making him know that you cared about him and what he had to say, even if it doubled your time in our room and put your day behind. You will forever be a part of our Glioblastoma journey and we are so thankful to have been blessed to meet you! You are truly doing God’s work, don’t stop because you’re phenomenal at what you’re doing!