Yesterday my husband and I rushed our 13 year old son K to Saint Anthony's in downtown Oklahoma City. My son has been depressed for the last week and our primary care doctor has been in the process of getting a referral for him to go to a pediatric psychiatrist and a counselor. However yesterday evening he began voicing his fears of the thoughts that were running through his head and how he had been contemplating suicide. I knew that Saint Anthony's had a pediatric psychiatric unit, and since time was of the essence my husband and I loaded up K and took him to Saints.
Saints is a big campus and with all of the construction taking place lately paired with my own frantic state to have my child seen, I had my husband drop us off at the Behavioral Health building while he went and parked the vehicle. K and I walked up to the building and it was locked and there was nobody around. By this time it occurred to me that we should probably be triaged through the ER. As we were walking down the steps towards Lee to wait for my husband, I flagged a nurse down and asked for help. I know she was a nurse because she had the navy blue scrubs on and a Red RN badge on. I'm sure she was getting off work and was anxious to get in the parking garage and go home. Anyway, this sweet nurse was so gracious and did not seem put out at all to help me. I asked her where we needed to check-in for a pediatric psych eval...all the while trying not to embarrass my son who was crying and standing next to me. She asked for clarification and I said something along the lines of me having a suicidal 13-year-old who needed to be seen by a doctor. That is when she looked at my crying son and asked him if he was the one who needed to see the doctor. When K shook his head yes she immediately got on his level and asked what his name was and said that she was so sorry that he was going through this. She told me that I should check in through the ER.
Before we made our way to the ER she asked me if it would be ok to pray with us first. I think I blurted out "of course!" My son and I were both wearing a mask, and she said "mom, is it ok if I wrap my arms around you and K?" Tearfully I answered that yes it was ok. I have been in church all my life and heard many great and powerful prayers...however, that prayer that nurse prayed over my son and I was the most compassionate and sincere, and caring prayer I think I have ever heard. While we bowed our heads in prayer, standing there on N Lee avenue with cars driving by I peeked to look at her name tag. Her name was Nancy, her last name started with a "K" but was whited out and she is an RN. By the time she said Amen my husband was walking up and I told her that this was K's dad. We talked for a few minutes more and she was able to tell me that she works in the ICU and that her husband is a pastor of a church. My mother (who had been a nurse for almost 40 years) died in the Saint Anthony ICU in 2015. Nancy said she didn't work there then, but I told Nancy how my mother got the very best care while she was at Saint Anthony's and even though she passed away, there is no doubt in my mind that it was meant to be and she was at the right place.
I can't even begin to tell you what that prayer and care and concern from one of your nurses meant to me and my son. My son got great care, and we are on the right track to getting him the care he needs from here on out. I think God puts people in the right place at the right time, and I am so glad that He put Nancy in the right place last night. I write this message because as a child of a lifelong nurse, and given the fact that I work with many nurses, I know that nursing is a thankless profession and very difficult and exhausting. I figure you already know what a treasure you have in Nurse Nancy from the ICU but in case you didn't, please realize it now. Someone once quoted something along these lines, "people always forget what you said...but they never forget how you made them feel". I will never forget what she said to us or how she made us feel that evening.