MacKenzie Cole
August 2023
MacKenzie
Cole
,
RN
Central Resource Pool
Sanford USD Medical Center
Sioux Falls
,
SD
United States

 

 

 

My mom and I were fortunate to have an Extraordinary Nurse, MacKenzie Cole.  She made sure my mom AND I were comfortable and treated all our endless questions with respect and compassion.  
I recently took my 85-year-old mother to the Sioux Falls Sanford Heart Hospital for a transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) procedure at the Short Stay Unit for a check up on her earlier Watchman surgery. Through the blood tests performed, it was found that her hemoglobin and iron were critically low.  My Mom was admitted to the Sanford Hospital for blood transfusions and an iron infusion.  Therefore, we had an unexpected and frightening two-day stay at the hospital on the cardiology floor.

My mom and I were fortunate to have an Extraordinary Nurse, MacKenzie Cole.  She made sure my mom AND I were comfortable and treated all our endless questions with respect and compassion.  The blood for my mom’s transfusions must be warmed because of her Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia (a type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma).  Even though it was a new concept for everyone involved, MacKenzie made sure all the necessary measures were taken to get it done.  Also, MacKenzie made sure my mom got some food after 18 hours of NO FOOD.  My mom was put on NPO, (nothing through the mouth) again at midnight for the possibility of the TEE procedure the next day.  When the next day came, we were anxious to find out if the procedure was going to take place.

MacKenzie knew our concerns and was determined to help us find out what the next course of action would be.  Even though morning came and went, it was well into the afternoon – MacKenzie was steadfast in sending messages and making telephone calls to find out if any decision had been made.  She kept us well informed of her steps and of any communications she had received. Finally, in the late afternoon, it was decided that there would not be a procedure.  When the decision was made, MacKenzie was quick to see if my mom wanted food after another 15 hours of no food.  She was also efficient and was quick to see to my mom’s discharge orders so we could go home and make the 120-mile trip back to Huron.  

My mom and I greatly appreciated MacKenzie’s professionalism, respect, kindness, and compassion in a stressful situation.