My son was a patient in the trauma ICU at Mercy San Juan Medical Center. He was involved in a near-fatal motorcycle accident and sustained multiple brain hemorrhages, a DAI (diffuse axonal injury), and polytrauma to the right side of his body. He was intubated and in a coma for the first four days of his stay. The care he received was phenomenal. It is very hard to pick one specific person as every nurse that we encountered was diligent and compassionate in the care that my son received.
But it always seems that there is that one person that stands out and that really connects to you on a personal level, and that goes over the normal call to duty. This nurse was Michelle. She was kind, informative, proactive, and advocated for my son on every level. She spoke to him as if he was wide awake, and could answer her questions. She performed daily mouth care and personal hygiene care routinely. She showed extraordinary compassion to me, explained and educated me on the ventilator, what to expect and what each noise meant so my anxiety levels didn't increase. She was present, and listened to my fears, hugged me (even though we were in a pandemic), and truly was Present. I can not explain the difference she made in his care and recovery.
What really stands out to me is how strongly she advocated for my son to be trailed off the ventilator. She was adamant that he needed to come off the ventilator to prevent secondary infection. He was trailed, and although he didn't pass the first time, she advocated for him to be trailed again the next day! And he passed! She advocated for him to have his MRI even though he was in traction; even had the bed dismantled to see if it would work. Her efforts were not missed, and I noticed her care and devotion to my son's treatment.
I wanted to express my most sincere thank you to her, as being a mother that almost lost her only son, I am so thankful for her diligence, her excellence, and her compassion in the care she gave to my son. Thank you seems like such a small gesture and doesn't compare to the energy that she gave to my son during his stay. Currently, my son is recovering well, living independently, and almost back to his baseline. I believe that the care that Michelle gave early on in my son's recovery has helped him recover so well. Michelle exudes the hospital's core values which include compassion, inclusion, integrity, excellence, and collaboration. She is a stellar nurse and embodies the core values of a DAISY Nurse. My family is forever grateful for her care and compassion.