I have had the pleasure of working alongside Michelle for almost 4 years. We work on R9E, a pre-transplant Hepatology unit. Our floor is comprised of med-surgical general medicine patients, with a focus on liver disease. Our patients are at high fall risk due to medications, the urgency to use the restroom, and high injury risk due to alterations in their bleeding times from liver disease. They are most often confused as well.

The words that first come to mind in describing Michelle are goofy, funny, compassionate, and energetic. At first, I thought her energy would die down after a year or so. But after 4 years, I am happy to report that Michelle is just as full of life as she was when we first met. Despite going to school and finishing her NP in acute care surgery, Michelle has managed to maintain her zest for life and actually increase her drive to provide absolute top-notch patient care to patients on our unit. If I assume care of her patients the next day after she has been the nurse caring for them, I am often told of how much they enjoyed Michelle as their nurse. She is a bright spot in a sometimes very dim hospital stay for our patients. Countless times I have heard of ways that she has gone above and beyond for her patients. The following are examples of her awesome care. 

We had a gentleman on our unit for about 6 months or so. He was a young man that suffered from drug addiction. He had a history of cardiac arrest and anoxic brain injury following his drug use. The patient whom we will call Jim presented to our hospital and to our unit with severe, uncontrollable muscle spasms. His family could not provide care for him at this time. Jim was with us for a long time. His muscle spasms were eventually controlled not completely but at least better than when he first was admitted. Although Jim’s body was failing, there was nothing wrong with his mind. He was alert and oriented. Often, he had issues communicating only because he spoke in a whisper. The many, many times our staff cared for him we were very focused on the physical aspects of his care. Controlling his spasms and pain, making sure he was clean and was eating/drinking enough. All of those are necessary parts of providing care for Jim. Enter Michelle. I had Jim the day after Michelle cared for him over the weekend. As I entered the room, I noticed Jim looked different. It was the first time I saw him smile. Our day was smooth. His muscle spasms seemed less severe, he ate and drank well, and he even talked a little more than usual. I noticed that his face had been shaved. When I asked him if his family had done this for him, he replied with a smile “No my nurse yesterday did.” So I had to dig a little deeper. I found that nurse to be Michelle. There was a note in Jim’s chart with detailed instructions on how to obtain a good electric razor so that staff could follow Michelle’s lead and shave Jim from time to time. I found out that Michelle called around (on the weekend mind you) to find an electric razor to shave Jim. She walked all the way over to the Ross heart hospital, came back to the unit and shaved Jim’s face. This was no easy task as it had been months since he had been shaved. Michelle had approached Jim’s care that day holistically. She not only tended to his physical needs, but in shaving him provided for his emotional needs. He could not complete this task himself because he could not use his arms. Michelle went above and beyond by tracking this razor down and finding the time to get it, complete her task, and then walk it back over to the Ross. She then, as I mentioned before, left a detailed note so staff could follow her lead. Because of her compassionate care, the patient was uplifted during a dark time for him. He was happier and felt more human after his encounter with Michelle. 

Another example of Michelle’s excellent care was a time when she cared for a sick 60 year old lady who had been in the hospital for a few weeks. She was found down by her family, taken to the hospital, diagnosed with shock and placed in ICU. She was on a ventilator, subsequently stabilized and then sent to us for ongoing care. This particular patient was very withdrawn, barely participating in her own care. She would hardly help staff when providing any kind of physical care. She often refused to be turned and refused baths. Michelle had her one day and then I came in and took over care at 11 am. Michelle gave me a thorough report as usual.  I noticed that she reported on her physical needs but also on her emotional needs. This patient was depressed. She was very sad to have gone from somewhat independent at home, to now completely deconditioned and dependent on staff. Michelle worked and worked with her that morning before I got there. She also identified a new wound during the in-depth and thorough care she provided and promptly placed a wound consult for the experts to come to assess this new finding. The patient seemed like a different person by the time I took over care. She even smiled a little. When I asked this patient what had happened that she seemed in such good spirits today she replied “That nurse is the first person to make me feel hopeful I will come out of this.” The rest of the day, this patient helped with her care more. She was actually looking to the future of attending Select specialty hospital with the goal to rehab, improvement, and go home. It was refreshing to hear the patient talk about the future as I had not heard this from her before. I really believe it is because she had the right nurse for her those 4 hours. She just needed a little bit of Michelle to encourage her. If she can do that in 4 hours, imagine what Michelle can do in 12!

My last example is a 20-year-old woman from Jordan, originally. She was brought to OSU by her brother with concern for extreme weight loss, nausea/vomiting, and anxiety. She was on our unit for weeks as we tried to control her nausea and figure out why she would not eat. She was very soft-spoken, quiet, and withdrawn, with a flat affect. She started to improve a little after being started on an anxiety medication. Unfortunately, this patient contracted Covid while on our unit. She had to be moved to a private room which to some, might be nice. But there was something about being in a room by yourself, with the door closed that this particular patient had a very difficult time with. She had just started warming up to staff when this happened. So she regressed a little and her anxiety increased again. The decision was made between the patient and the physician team that the patient would need a tube down her nose, past her stomach, and into her duodenum to aid with nutrition and also reduce nausea/vomiting following oral intake also reduce nausea/vomiting following oral intake. Michelle had the patient when I was asked to place this tube. Michelle went in with me to assist but also because she had a great rapport with the patient. I placed the tube but it was a difficult insertion so the patient was very upset afterward. After I left the room, I went about my business taking care of my own patients. About an hour later, I realized that Michelle was still in the same room. Gown, gloves, eye protection, and an N95 mask for a whole hour. After she exited the room, I asked if the patient was doing ok. Michelle replied that she had anticipated that the patient may need some extra time following the NG insertion. She had therefore made sure the needs of her other patients were met so she could devote time to provide the necessary care she knew this young woman would need. She was right. After I went back to check on the tube and to pull the wire, she was comfortable and sound asleep. All that extra TLC Michelle provided to her made her feel at peace. 

I really could go on and on with so many examples of how wonderful and blessed we are to have Michelle on our unit. These 3 examples are just moments of her awesome care that stood out to me. I am sure that she has had many more. She continues to be a beacon of light on our unit, always going out of her way to show compassion to our patients. She is a true DAISY Nurse.