We had some super awesome care while my husband was in ICU for 12 days, ten of them on a ventilator. I spent every day there, whether it was in the waiting room or in his room, and I usually left shortly after the evening shift change. Samantha Hipke was the one that touched my heart the most. She was his day nurse on days 1-4, and right away I knew that she was something special. We had the infectious disease rules of mask, gown, and gloves, so going into his room wasn’t the most comfortable experience. Sam was always asking if I had questions about anything. Of course, I usually did, and she answered them very professionally and heartfelt. I had my notepad that I was keeping daily notes on and struggled to remember the names of medications, as I had never been through anything like this, but Sam was very patient with me and wrote them on the board to help me. She actually asked if I would like her to write them down for me, so I just gave her my notebook. During the times that I was sitting in his room with him, she would come in to do her thing and explain what she was doing, especially if something was changing. She was so good at keeping me updated with everything! There was a lot going on, so she had her work cut out for her! During the times when I would stand outside of his room and just look in at him, Sam would come up to update me if she hadn't seen me for a while and ask if I had any questions. When she left at the end of our day 4, I thanked her and told her not to take it personally, as I really did like her, but I really didn’t want to see her again when she came back to work the next week. She agreed.

One cute story during this time, Sam was checking on him and had asked him to give her a “thumbs up”. From his reactions, she asked him if he just flipped her off! He shook his head no in response. We giggled over that. I really appreciate that she asked if I would like to attend the daily “patient review” as this was a wonderful all-around update on everything going on with my husband and his care. In addition to me getting updated, I had the opportunity to talk to the entire care team too. We have 3 children, and Sam treated them so well! On day 4, it was determined that my husband wouldn’t be getting his tube pulled for a few days. I had some good conversations with Sam that day, and we decided that it would be nice to have the ICU doctor talk with the kids to explain everything to them and to have them ask any questions that they may have. This meeting took place the next day, and I’m so thankful that we did that! Things progressed slowly in our ICU room during Sam’s days off, and when I walked into the ICU on day 10, Sam was there. I think my exact words were, “I wasn’t supposed to see you today!” I was so happy to see her, as that was the day that we were pretty sure his tube was coming out! She told me that he had a good night and how much his sedation had been lowered, and then she said that they were going to be pulling the tube sometime that morning. I felt my tears coming but kept them to a minimum to get my questions asked. Of course, I got gowned up and went in! During the breathing tests with the RT, who was also super awesome, we all 3 worked together to coach him on breathing on his own.

Later that day, we moved rooms to the other side of the ICU, and Sam was great with letting me know this would be happening, and the transition went great! Once my husband actually woke up later that day in his new room, he had some ICU delirium. Sam had already warned me that he could possibly experience this when he woke up. Once he started talking in his weak voice, we had no idea what he would be telling us about the real-life experiences that he had while he was sleeping. This was scary stuff! Sam talked to me more about how delirium can affect patients and what we can do. The next day, day 11, it was neat to see Sam actually get to talk to the patient that she had been taking care of that could only respond by squeezing her hand, giving a thumbs up, or moving his feet. Her personality shined! This was the day that I told my husband that I just love Sam and that she’s a great nurse. He responded that she is a good nurse! She even helped our son that day, as he had a band-aid that just wasn’t sticking.

Day 12 was the day that we FINALLY got out of the ICU! I’m glad they kept Sam on the schedule for that day, as she got the honor of taking him up to the 4th floor! Sam really is an amazing person with a talent for caring for those in need. I’m thankful that she was assigned to us. Sam and everyone that was on my husband’s care team were amazing! We are grateful for each and every one of them.