Simply put, I received excellent care. And it was more than excellent, it was beyond exceptional. I broke my leg badly roller skating at the skate park. I was taken by ambulance to the ER where I waited for hours (literally like 5 or 6) until I was taken upstairs to, I think, the orthopedic wing/floor of Fairfax hospital. It was the day before Thanksgiving. It was during COVID so my family couldn't go upstairs with me and I was terrified. I've never been in a hospital other than to give birth and the ER freaked me out with everyone around me running around in a rushed/scary fashion. Plus, I was put in a bed outside Triage, left by myself, and then surrounded by cops because some crazy dude was doing something shady. I cannot explain how TERRIFYING that was. For a person who is medicated for anxiety, it was simply awful.

When I got upstairs, they told me my nurse would come in and get me set up, etc. but all I knew was that I had no family or friends to be with me and I "probably" needed surgery and I was in a huge amount of pain. I was overwhelmed and scared and started crying. Reema walked in and was calm and collected. And WARM. She was gentle and kind and didn't act like I was just another patient on her list before she could get home to her own family and home life. She came over, held my hand, and took my vitals. And then gently said, "There's no need to cry. You have a broken leg. I've seen this MANY times before. You haven't lost your leg. I've seen that happen, and when it does, that's when you cry. But you will be OK. You are in excellent hands and we have excellent surgeons." She said it firmly and kindly, and I believed her. It was just what I needed to hear. She wasn't diminishing my feelings at all, but making me realize that my injury was something they could fix, that wasn't life-threatening or something that I'd never recover from. it might suck, but I was going to be just fine. She didn't tell me that just to make me feel better or to say something scripted. She meant it and it was clear she did. I immediately stopped crying because I was reassured and felt safe. I was still nervous, but I felt cared for, listened to, and more at ease than I had been in the previous 6+ hours since I'd gotten hurt.

Reema was then my nurse for the next 24 hours (I think, lol). She was there for my first night, when I woke up crying out in pain. She came immediately and asked if I wanted morphine. I had already refused it from other people because I had heard that morphine sometimes makes people feel very sick and my body doesn't tolerate medication well sometimes. I explained and said I couldn't deal with feeling sicker on top of everything else. She listened, understood, and told me if I wanted to try it, she would stay with me while she gave me the medicine and then after to make sure that I was OK. I had already been given other meds that were helping, but not getting me the sleep I needed, so I said I'd try. She told me she'd only give me half of the dose because she knew how anxious I was about it. Again, even though she was the medical professional, she still listened to what I was saying because I know my body best. Not all doctors or nurses do that. And it's so important and empowering to be listened to as a patient, when you feel completely incapable of helping yourself. Reema then stayed with me as she gave me the morphine, and my anxiety cranked up, but she stood there, watching my vitals closely and I said, "I feel like it's getting weird to breathe, she confirmed "Your vitals are perfect. This feeling is normal." Then, my body shook and I said, "I'm really nervous and freaking out, are you sure I'm not dying?" (See? Massive anxiety here...) She stayed calm and patted my hand and said, "Yes, this is completely normal. It does happen, and your vitals are exactly where they need to be, etc." She kept talking me through it until my body calmed down and I started to feel less pain and finally didn't feel the weirdness. She did not leave my side until I said I was fine.

I KNOW how busy nurses are, and I'm assuming they were 2x as busy during COVID, but Reema took AMAZING care of me. My mother apparently called that night and Reema gave her updates and somehow managed to calm and reassure my mother - which is an amazing feat in itself. My mother told me later that she could tell how well I was being taken care of by Reema and was comforted by that since she was unable to be in the hospital with me. The next day, I went into surgery (again, terrified) and Reema assured me, "You are being taken care of by an EXCELLENT surgeon. He will do great work and then you'll be back and ready to start recovering."

I can't remember if Reema was there when I came back or if it was another nurse at that time, but I can say that Reema was my favorite. I had very good nurses, but Reema was hands down amazing. I absolutely LOVE her. She is the epitome of what you want in someone taking care of you: confident, competent, knowledgeable, skilled, and KIND, CARING, and reassuring. Whenever I needed her, she was there. And I tried not to call too often. But she'd even swing by and just pop in when I hadn't called to make sure I was OK. She truly understood me and took such good care of me. My experience honestly could not have been better and I credit this to Reema. I've told friends and family time and time again of my experience. I only wish I could thank Reema in person. I still owe her a thank you note, but I hope maybe she'll get the recognition she deserves because I'm sure she has touched other people's lives in addition to mine. Regardless, please do send this to Reema if at all possible. I do want her to know how much her care meant to me and will always mean to me. She is one of those people that changed my life in a small, but significant way and I will never forget her. Thank you, Reema.