My brother had a massive heart attack on a cruise with his wife. After 16 hours he arrived from sea to Broward Health Medical Center. My parents and I flew in. We were met with grim news. He may not survive. He was put on an ECMD machine in CVICU. They were trying to keep him alive for at least a week before attempting to patch the heart which had ruptured. My parents and I were in despair. His wife Nancy was left on the ship. And then we met Ro! When we met Ro she gave us confidence that he was getting excellent care. Every single nurse was fantastic but Ro stood out.
For my parents, their only son was unresponsive and hooked to machines; Ro kept him alive. Ro was his nurse for several days that first week. My mother kept telling me, "Ro is his nurse, and she constantly watches his machines and tweaks them with utmost care." This gave mom and dad peace of mind. All that constant vigilance and seriousness to her job that Ro brought gave us, the family, peace.
The day came for my brother to be removed from the machines keeping him alive. Ro explained the things taking place. Ro was with us every step. Even if she was not our nurse she would check in on him. It was Ro who suggested bringing family pictures for him; he finally came out of sedation. It was Ro who reassured us that he was ready to leave ICU. Ro came to visit him in RCU. She scanned the hospital room and then taught me the importance of keeping everything sanitary. She gave me and my brother pointers to keep infection away that we shared with the rest of the family who arrived in shifts. "Pointers from Ro" was the title of the memo that made the rounds with the family. One day, his blood pressure crashed two times. Ro came to the 4th floor to check on his condition two times!
My sister and I flew in for our shift with our brother. Ro was not our nurse those days but came in with a sunny smile daily to check on him and also on us. She encouraged us, those early days, telling us he would come walking through the ICU, that he would recover and come back to visit the nurses on the hall. She teased him keeping his spark of humor alive. She cared about our parents and the strain this was on their health. We spent a month and a half at Broward Health before flying him home for rehab. Ro was instrumental in my brother's recovery each one of those days! On the day he was released, Ro switched her day off on the air ambulance. Ro has gone above and beyond her role as a nurse; she has become family!