Lisa Giaquinto, LPN

I had an appointment with the Vascular lab about an hour from home, and I'd left with plenty of time to make my 1:00 pm appointment. But the best-laid plans go down the drain when I-91 South meets I-95 South, and you're stuck at a dead stop. The minutes were just ticking away, and I was going to be late now, even though Lisa Giaquinto had called my home and talked to my wife while I was already on the way (very kind of her!), and asked her to tell me to go ahead and come on in as she was waiting for me.

So I finally get to the VA, and hustle as best as I can (I have a full wrap on my right leg, knee to foot for a serious venous stasis issue, which was painful in the extreme), to the lab. Of course, there was no one up front at the entrance to offer some help, such as a ride. I hump it on down to the very end of the building, get the elevator, and head down the hallway. Lisa's in the hallway talking to another staffer,. and she says "Hey Mr. C! C'mon down!", like we'd known each other for years.

Now, all of this preamble sets the stage for my mood, which was extremely unpleasant due to traffic, leg pain from walking so far, frustration, exhaustion, and the fact that the last time I had this test, it was horribly painful, and I was not looking forward to it at all. That all said, Lisa immediately disarmed me with her smile, and her overpoweringly (for lack of a better word), positive attitude. She was light and funny and professional, and explained exactly what she was going to do and why, and how long each test would take. She was just in her own happy world there and invited me right along for the ride. And she was 100% genuine. I couldn't help but be instantly disarmed by her attitude.

The tests went quickly, and before I knew it, I was done, and she was wrapping up. I'd hardly even noticed, as opposed to several years ago when I was begging for them to be complete. And then she tried to reach the front desk to get me a ride back down, but there was no answer, so she found a wheelchair and took me down herself since she had 30 minutes before her next appointment. I mean, who does that? Now, I'm not sure how the VA defines "Extraordinary". Like beauty, I believe extraordinary is in the eye of the beholder...it comes in many shapes, sizes, and flavors. And in this case, for a nurse to make such a positive impact on a 63 year old war vet, in such a short period of time, to where I feel the need to write a short story about the experience...to me, that's Extraordinary.

Lisa is truly one of the reasons I'm so privileged to have the VA as my healthcare provider.