April 2018
Margaret
Pirkl
,
RN
CCU
UnityPoint Health - Des Moines
Des Moines
,
IA
United States
Walking into the CCU to see your 45-year-oldhusband was the most frightening thing our family has ever endured. I was given some heads up about how he looked and the number of machines in the room, but seeing it with my own eyes was different. Margaret patiently reassured us as we walked down the hall that everything that we would see when entering the room was "normal." With that being said, I did not shed a tear because I knew we were in the right place and had the right nurse. Margaret was amazing. She talked to my husband about rock music, including Bon Jovi, while he was still out from sedation, but knew he could hear her. This made him know he was going to be okay, as he later remembers. When the breathing tube was removed later that day, she asked him if he could tell her his name and he said, "Jon Bon Jovi." This said so much about her as an amazing nurse. She took the time to talk to him and make him feel comfortable, even under anesthesia.