When I planned my visit and overnight stay with my grandma at the hospital following surgery on Monday, I never in my mind expected to be leaving the hospital, without her on Wednesday. My grandma suffered from complications after her surgery. While all the nurses were outstanding (which takes a lot for a fellow nurse at a different facility to say), Michelle stood out to me and my family. She hit the ground running on Tuesday morning. The medical team was prepping my grandma for surgery. She came and explained everything to us, her communication was above the top. While my grandma was in surgery, she came out to the waiting room to talk with my grandpa (and us) about what to expect when she returned from surgery. She was proactive in getting consent signed for dialysis. She used the TEACH Back method to assure that my grandpa understood exactly what was going to be happening.

When my grandma returned from surgery, she became very hypotensive. When I walked into the room from lunch the room was full of people working on my grandma. Michelle quickly apologized and said that it all happened so quickly that she didn't have time to call us because she was busy working on my grandma. As the afternoon progressed, my grandma's condition deteriorated. Michelle worked tirelessly to manage medications, titrating more drips than I could count to keep my grandma alive. Throughout the entire process, she kept us informed of everything that was going on. While she was moving fast, she remained calm, cool, and collected- which helped keep our minds at ease.

She was training a new nurse that day. The level of critical thinking that she was making him do, was outstanding. She is a great teacher (I learned SO much from her). Even though my grandma was sedated and, on a ventilator, - she talked to my grandma and told her everything she was doing, as well as my grandpa. She treated her with dignity and respect. Without us asking, she updated us regularly as her condition changed.

I know that the outcome the next day wasn't what we expected, but I truly believe the outcome would have happened even sooner if Michelle hadn't acted as quickly and proficiently as she did. She advocated for my grandma. The teamwork I saw amongst the entire medical team in the ICU was top-notch. There are no words to describe how thankful my entire family is for the amazing care that Michelle provided to my grandmother.