Lori Wilson with CNO Karin Toci
December 2013
Lori
Wilson
,
RN
Progressive Care
Banner Thunderbird Medical Center
Glendale
,
AZ
United States
...my husband had a CABG. He was admitted with chest pain on a Wednesday but didn't have his surgery until the following Tuesday. As you can imagine, it was a very anxious time of waiting and worrying for both of us. At that time, we had 6 children in our home (5 of which were 8 and under). You see we are foster parents and had 2 foster children and 4 of our own at home during this time. My husband is a stay at home dad and his absence in the home was very traumatizing to us all. Talk about upheaval. Anyway, as the days wore on my husband became more and more anxious and was starting to get a little depressed. He was so scared and missed his kids desperately. We had kept them from visiting too much because PCU is not an appropriate place for children.
The Monday before his surgery the nurse assigned to him was Lori. She was so amazing to us both. Recognizing that my husband was having a hard time she just enveloped him with the best care, empathy, confidence and comfort. She came and sat with him for significant periods of time as her patient load would allow. I was trying to work full-time during the whole ordeal and felt so much better knowing that Lori was watching over him.
The night before the surgery my husband really needed to see his babies. We had them brought over after school to visit. They were tired and hot and hungry when they arrived. We tried visiting in his room but pretty soon the kids were bouncing off the walls. Lori graciously allowed us to go to the 3rd floor waiting room to have our visit and seeing what was going on Lori decided to surprise us. As we were enjoying being together as a family - in my husband's mind possibly for the last time - out of the blue Lori came to the waiting room with a blanket and bunch of food for my kids. She created a picnic with juice, milk, pudding, crackers, jello - just whatever she could find. They made a huge mess on the blanket but she didn't care. She actually sat down on the blanket with them and helped feed the babies.
I think that Lori represents the very best of what Banner Nurses stand for. Going above and beyond to help our family, especially my husband, to get through this time was an incredible act of kindness.
The Monday before his surgery the nurse assigned to him was Lori. She was so amazing to us both. Recognizing that my husband was having a hard time she just enveloped him with the best care, empathy, confidence and comfort. She came and sat with him for significant periods of time as her patient load would allow. I was trying to work full-time during the whole ordeal and felt so much better knowing that Lori was watching over him.
The night before the surgery my husband really needed to see his babies. We had them brought over after school to visit. They were tired and hot and hungry when they arrived. We tried visiting in his room but pretty soon the kids were bouncing off the walls. Lori graciously allowed us to go to the 3rd floor waiting room to have our visit and seeing what was going on Lori decided to surprise us. As we were enjoying being together as a family - in my husband's mind possibly for the last time - out of the blue Lori came to the waiting room with a blanket and bunch of food for my kids. She created a picnic with juice, milk, pudding, crackers, jello - just whatever she could find. They made a huge mess on the blanket but she didn't care. She actually sat down on the blanket with them and helped feed the babies.
I think that Lori represents the very best of what Banner Nurses stand for. Going above and beyond to help our family, especially my husband, to get through this time was an incredible act of kindness.