Peggy O'Shea
May 2019
Margaret
O'Shea
,
RN
Patient Care Services Director, Complimentary Medicine
Danbury Hospital
Danbury
,
CT
United States

 

 

 

Peggy is a colleague of mine at Danbury Hospital but this recognition comes from a patient perspective. Unfortunately, I was a patient and was septic with a liver abscess that eventually required surgical removal. Early on in my hospitalization, I requested a consult with Peggy for therapeutic care. Over the course of my career, I had recommended and consulted Peggy for many of my patients so it was easy for me to realize I needed her expertise in my time of need. It was the smartest decision I could have ever made to help with my recovery. You see, Peggy is a holistic practitioner and in charge of Complementary Medicine at our community hospital. Peggy is one of the most caring individuals I have had the benefit of working with and even more so, as one of her patients. Peggy brought me healing tea tree oil to treat my liver, the smell was so cleansing all of my caregivers remarked how clean my room smelled. I could not eat and had been vomiting for weeks, Peggy brought me bone broth to sip on as well as ginger tea. Following Peggy, many other staff members brought me healing oils, homemade bone broth, and her herbal teas all in the hopes of eliminating nausea and vomiting so that I could eat and get my strength back prior to surgery. Peggy put her healing hands on me and talked to me about Chinese medicine and my liver. Peggy encouraged me to ask the right questions to my medical team when I was getting tired of advocating for myself. Peggy went above and beyond to help me recover. Peggy called me on her time off while in Boston visiting her grandchildren. I should have been the last thing on her mind when she had precious time off to be with her grandchildren. And she took my calls whenever I needed to touch base with her. When I thought I didn't have the strength to walk and participate in my physical therapy, Peggy was my cheerleader and snapped me out of my negative thinking. Peggy was integral to my healing, but it did not stop at my discharge. I was teary about my hair loss and return to work, Peggy was helpful to me by listening to me about a plan to take hair vitamins; she listened when I complained about still not being able to really eat, just eating because I knew I needed too. Peggy offered recommendations and I am enjoying a more plant-based diet. I am "radiant" now as one of my physicians put it and I am back to my healthy self with much-improved balance, flexibility, and appetite. I credit most of this to Peggy for taking the time to listen to me, to redirect me back to what I could do, and the strength that I thought I had lost. I would be remiss if I didn't also give credit to my nursing, medical, and surgical teams in my survival, but Peggy was a winner for this patient. Thank you, Peggy, for all you do for our patients and our professionals.