Let me tell you the caliber of nurse that Grandview Medical Center has in Roman. First, some background. I called 911 because of severe chest pain and was brought by ambulance to Grandview where I received a stent. While I was still in the cath lab, the stent occluded, and I received another. At some point after my admission, I began bleeding from my right femoral artery, which required a trip to the OR to repair the damage. My daughter, a nurse practitioner who was spending the night, noticed blood on my sheets, and called the nurse. A large hematoma had formed on my thigh. Eventually, Roman was called in to assist.
I believe Roman saved my life in two ways. The first is the leadership he asserted when he entered the room. Eventually, seven or eight nurses worked on me or for me, and Roman took command. It was he who compressed the hematoma while directing others. It was he who emptied the blood from the drain as my blood pressure dropped. As he was working on me with a focused intensity, between comments and instructions to his team, he told me more than once to "hang in there." So, I did.
The second way Roman saved my life was by insisting that the vascular surgeon come to the hospital. Evidently, my numbers did not look so dire as Roman judged the situation to be. Roman informed the surgeon that the numbers did not reflect reality. He told the surgeon clearly and respectfully, "Sir, you need to be here." The surgeon came, sent me to the OR, and repaired the hematoma.
This recommendation rather sterile language does not convey the depth of my gratitude. So I add some observations. As Roman and the team of nurses worked over me, my eyes were closed but I was alert. I heard what they said to one another and to me. In the days that followed, I could not tell this story without crying. Two weeks later, I still cannot. I was moved by the fervor with which Roman and his teammates worked to save me, by the way they spoke to me, and by the way they spoke to one another. I have mentioned how Roman encouraged me even as he concentrated on the tasks keeping me alive. At one point the surgical resident said "I'm going to have to go straight into his neck, and I don't know if I can do it, Roman replied "yes you can. I know you can." I was supposed to lie still, but I felt the stick and jumped, which impeded setting the line. But the resident did it, and when he said, "I got it," Roman said "I told you. I had faith in you." What a thing for a patient to hear: words that belied both confidence in the one doing such critical work and the power of encouragement.
Even as he worked with his team, Roman kept my family up to date on my status, comforted them, and asked if they wanted to see the chaplain. They did. The next day as I again recovered, Roman called the unit to check on me. Later he came to my room to visit me and my wife. Roman is a remarkable human being and an extraordinary nurse. I thank God for him.