Kristen Tracht
May 2023
Kristen
Tracht
,
RN
PACU
MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital
Puyallup
,
WA
United States
I could feel the stress relieved, knowing that she would be caring for me again. Kristin once again made me feel so safe and calm during another terrible journey I was going through.
I'll start off by saying I could write a novel about the amazing care, compassion, and overall joy that Kristin brought into my life. I'm also getting teary-eyed just thinking about what I want to say. This nomination is for the care I received from Kristin in September 2022 and December 2021. After December 2021 I had a hard recovery emotional and never got around to nominating Kristen the first time. Here's my (abbreviated) story...
In December of 2021, I was admitted to the ER for the second time in one week due to excessive hemorrhaging resulting from retained products of conception from my fourth miscarriage. It had been 7 weeks of bleeding that got progressively worse. After being there all night Saturday, I was moved to the PACU to be prepped for surgery Sunday morning. That's where I first met Kristen. She was so kind and comforting to me in a time when I felt broken. Kristen was apologetic for my situation, even though she of course had nothing to do with the pain I was suffering. She joked with my husband and me, answered all our questions, and created such a comforting atmosphere that allowed me to feel comfortable in my hurt.
The first thing I remember when waking up from surgery was peeking at her through the bars of my bed and saying, "I can see you!," and then flashes of her singing "Let's Get Together" from the original Parent Trap movie with me. Such a funny and fun memory! I felt great waking up and she made sure I was comfortable, both emotionally and physically. She was such a blast. Kristin even made sure I had all the snacks I needed since it had been about nearly 18 hours since I ate. It felt like being cared for by a friend who happened to be a nurse, and not someone who was just there to take of patients.
Flash forward to August 2022. I was going through my fifth miscarriage and was again needing to have a D&C. I was scheduled for early September. Every call I had with surgery schedulers, pre-anesthesia, etc. I asked the same question, "Do you know if Kristin is working that day?“ Lol. No one knew for sure, so I waited. On the day of surgery, I asked the RN who was prepping me if Kristin was working, but she was off that day, so we just talked about how awesome we both thought Kristin was. My pre/post care was great, but not nearly as fun (as odd as that word seems to be when talking about surgery).
Unfortunately, there were still leftover POCs and I required a second surgery at the end of September. Again, I asked everyone if Kristin was going to be working but no one knew. As my husband and I sat in the lobby waiting to be called back I kept thinking, "I hope Kristin is here so I can say hi." And then I heard my name being called. My heart leaped as I instantly recognized the voice, turned in my chair, and said, "Kristin!!" I was so happy to see her that I had to give her a hug. I could feel the stress relieved, knowing that she would be caring for me again. Kristin once again made me feel so safe and calm during another terrible journey I was going through. We talked, caught up, and laughed.
It was so incredible how God orchestrated the events leading up to that day, to allow us to be randomly put together by the charge nurse. Kristin is an incredible person and nurse. She has truly been given a unique gift of healing and compassion that goes above and beyond what I usually get from healthcare workers. That's not take anything away from others, because I get great care at MultiCare, but no one compares to Kristin. I like to make custom gifts and dropped off a goodie bag of some small things I knew she would be interested in. It still doesn't feel like enough. I could (and might) thank her for the rest of my life and it will never feel like enough for who she was to me in the hardest journeys I've been on.
I want her excellence to be known and recognized. I want her to know that I'm not the only one who thinks she's awesome. I want her to be able to look at her DAISY Award and remember that she has forever and always changed someone's life and is part of the joy they see when they look back on tragedy. I want her to know that I thank God for how she cared for someone that felt broken. I think a saying that would explain my feelings about Kristin would be, "There's not yet a word for old friends who have only just met."
In December of 2021, I was admitted to the ER for the second time in one week due to excessive hemorrhaging resulting from retained products of conception from my fourth miscarriage. It had been 7 weeks of bleeding that got progressively worse. After being there all night Saturday, I was moved to the PACU to be prepped for surgery Sunday morning. That's where I first met Kristen. She was so kind and comforting to me in a time when I felt broken. Kristen was apologetic for my situation, even though she of course had nothing to do with the pain I was suffering. She joked with my husband and me, answered all our questions, and created such a comforting atmosphere that allowed me to feel comfortable in my hurt.
The first thing I remember when waking up from surgery was peeking at her through the bars of my bed and saying, "I can see you!," and then flashes of her singing "Let's Get Together" from the original Parent Trap movie with me. Such a funny and fun memory! I felt great waking up and she made sure I was comfortable, both emotionally and physically. She was such a blast. Kristin even made sure I had all the snacks I needed since it had been about nearly 18 hours since I ate. It felt like being cared for by a friend who happened to be a nurse, and not someone who was just there to take of patients.
Flash forward to August 2022. I was going through my fifth miscarriage and was again needing to have a D&C. I was scheduled for early September. Every call I had with surgery schedulers, pre-anesthesia, etc. I asked the same question, "Do you know if Kristin is working that day?“ Lol. No one knew for sure, so I waited. On the day of surgery, I asked the RN who was prepping me if Kristin was working, but she was off that day, so we just talked about how awesome we both thought Kristin was. My pre/post care was great, but not nearly as fun (as odd as that word seems to be when talking about surgery).
Unfortunately, there were still leftover POCs and I required a second surgery at the end of September. Again, I asked everyone if Kristin was going to be working but no one knew. As my husband and I sat in the lobby waiting to be called back I kept thinking, "I hope Kristin is here so I can say hi." And then I heard my name being called. My heart leaped as I instantly recognized the voice, turned in my chair, and said, "Kristin!!" I was so happy to see her that I had to give her a hug. I could feel the stress relieved, knowing that she would be caring for me again. Kristin once again made me feel so safe and calm during another terrible journey I was going through. We talked, caught up, and laughed.
It was so incredible how God orchestrated the events leading up to that day, to allow us to be randomly put together by the charge nurse. Kristin is an incredible person and nurse. She has truly been given a unique gift of healing and compassion that goes above and beyond what I usually get from healthcare workers. That's not take anything away from others, because I get great care at MultiCare, but no one compares to Kristin. I like to make custom gifts and dropped off a goodie bag of some small things I knew she would be interested in. It still doesn't feel like enough. I could (and might) thank her for the rest of my life and it will never feel like enough for who she was to me in the hardest journeys I've been on.
I want her excellence to be known and recognized. I want her to know that I'm not the only one who thinks she's awesome. I want her to be able to look at her DAISY Award and remember that she has forever and always changed someone's life and is part of the joy they see when they look back on tragedy. I want her to know that I thank God for how she cared for someone that felt broken. I think a saying that would explain my feelings about Kristin would be, "There's not yet a word for old friends who have only just met."