Rosie Dowers, RN
2 South (Neuro/Ortho)

My husband, Ray, was only eighteen hours out of a grueling spinal surgery when he was taken downstairs for a CT scan. During the six weeks prior to this, the staph infection that was destroying his discs (leading to nerve compression), had caused both increasing pain and major disability. He had developed a tolerance for high amounts of pain medicine, so the post-operative pain pump was both a necessity and a blessing.

However, after the various scans, his pump was not turned back on. To compound the situation, he had to wait over forty minutes in a transporter snafu. By the time he was finally returned to his room, he was writhing in agony.

ENTER ROSIE. She had been his nurse on tow other days prior to surgery. She struck me as pleasant, informative and professional, yet hardly the bubbly, sweet type. (Wait, there is a wonderful compliment coming) This day, she was exactly what Ray needed. She spent almost her entire morning as his advocate, while I sat by watching and helpless. She restarted the pump, only to find it was broken. She commandeered a second pump which also malfunctioned. In the meantime, Ray’s pain levels were intolerable. While hunting down a third machine, she badgered the pharmacy into sending up a shot of the medication as he was now almost four hours off of the relief of the pump. She succeeded. Rosie was relentless, patient, insistent – our hero!