Although there are many people with whom I found great favor on both the Nursing and Nursing Assistant staff of the PCU staff, I must nominate Mary Petak. Her experience, good humor, combined with 1st rate care was a delight.
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My father was recently a patient in 3 North and for a few days, Mary Petak took care of him. I have worked with Mary previously in a professional vain so witnessing her clinical acumen and skill set was not surprising to me. I was genuinely impressed with her compassion and willingness to advocate for her patients. I can provide numerous examples that demonstrate these traits. More importantly however, she made my father comfortable and secure. My father was petrified and insecure about his health and hospital stay. He had never been in a hospital before and is a very proud independent man. Mary knew just how to make him comfortable and assure the family that he was getting the proper care. He trusted her and even said one day, "she's like one of the family".
It is an understatement to say that Mary is an extraordinary nurse. It is rare that you find such a great combination of clinical skills, proactive mindedness, compassion, humorous, personable, and hard-working. I'm proud to have the opportunity to work with her professionally, and could not feel more fortunate to say that she took care of my father.
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The most difficult times of our lives are those times when we face the loss of those we love. We feel helpless, hopeless, and afraid. We wish we could wave a magic wand and make it all go away. However, I feel lucky and blessed by the presence of "an angel", in the form of Mary Petak, whom I had the privilege of knowing, during the last weeks of my mother's life. Mom had been into the hospital in November and had been so impressed with Mary, that she often referred to her affectionately as "my angel". After a brief return to the rehab, mom landed back in the hospital on Christmas Eve.
This is a heartbreaking time for both patients and family members to be in and out of the hospital. Again mom had the blessing of having Mary watch over her. Things deteriorated between Christmas and New Year's Eve, and soon found mom struggling to breathe. Mary comforted me, told me what to expect, kept me calm, and kept mom calm, in the face of an almost certain negative outcome. When it came time for mom to pass, it was Mary who, having seen the monitor, came rushing in to tell me "she's going" allowing my son and me the time to jump to her side and hold her hands to ease her transition.
Mary Petak, is that one of a kind rare soul, who is not just "doing her job", she is living it! She not only took care of all her patients but was the "go to" person for all the nurses who needed assistance with their own questions, or problems. She made an impression on me that I will carry all of my days. She was my mother's Angel. She watched over her with a smile and I know mom is watching over Mary.