Maria is an amazing young lady! She was my nurse for 3 days and I'm thankful she was with me for each one of them. It's hard to adjust to the change of an ileostomy. I had a mishap with mine that resulted in a big mess and I was left feeling embarrassed and mortified. I'm thankful for Maria's quick thinking, as she protected my abdominal incision dressing from getting saturated. She told me everything was going to be okay. She brought another nurse in to help change my bedding.
Turning was hard because my stomach has so many drains and incisions, all I could do was cry because I felt embarrassed. Maria gave me a safe place to feel all my emotions. She set goals with me to get up and moving. I was hesitant because turning in bed hurt. I couldn't imagine walking. She was encouraging and told me she would take care of my pain before we would walk. She truly wanted me to succeed and was positive for me when it was hard for me to find it.
Maria found time in her busy day to sit and talk with me. In doing so, she found out how badly I wanted a Mountain Dew and all they had was ginger ale. When it was time for her to leave on her last day, she told me it was a pleasure for her to take care of me and that she wishes me well. Then she handed me a Mountain Dew! She remembered. I want to thank her for her excellent care and genuine compassion.