It goes without saying that life-saving surgery is one of the scariest and most stressful times in anyone's life. After nine hours in surgery, my husband was lucky enough to be transferred into the talented, compassionate, caring hands of Lena Mathena. She was like an angel-on-earth watching over him diligently and attending to all the many machines and tubes hooked up to our loved one. When we first stepped into his room and saw him lying in that bed so helpless and sick, tears came to our eyes and Lena immediately cared enough about us to take us into her arms for a comforting hug. Not just an "it'll be OK" kind of hug...but a real, loving, compassionate, caring kind of hug that not only comforted us but took away some of our anxiety of the whole dire situation. Because of Lena, we were able to be uplifted, strengthened, and assured that we would all get through this recovery together. And we did!
Over the course of the next three of the nurse's 12 hours shifts, Lena exhibited consistently compassionate care of him and explained each procedure thoroughly to us so we would not be confused or worried about what was happening during his stay. If Lena didn't have an answer to any of our concerns and questions, she did not hesitate to intercede on our behalf to ask the staff doctors or even to call our wonderful surgeon at home to secure an answer or get clarification on a medical issue. It totally felt as if Lena treated my husband as if he were her own father, which gave us a sense of peace and confidence in his medical care. Her vast amount of knowledge and years of medical experience always came shining through, as they efficiently followed the doctor's orders and attended to every need of our loved one. Lena consistently went above and beyond the job duties to make the patient comfortable, but never forgot to ask about our needs too. She happily brought ice water to us or pillows and blankets and took steps to ensure we were as comfortable as possible as we camped out in the hospital with him. Lena even went out of the way to recognize our daughter's birthday while she visited her dad in the unit on her special day. Lena epitomizes our idea of a perfect and caring nurse and serves Henry Ford Hospital well as an ambassador for the remarkable patient experience.
Lena consistently demonstrated excellence through clinical expertise and extraordinarily compassionate care. She honestly made our stay in the hospital more tolerable and turned our panic into teaching moments that should serve as a role model for other nurses.
We thank you from the bottom of our hearts!