Sarah Kespelher
May 2022
Sarah
Kespelher
,
LPN
Lake Charles CBOC
Alexandria VA Health Care System
Alexandria
,
LA
United States

 

 

 

I felt I had someone that could advocate for me and truly listen. She helped me get out of a dark time in my life.
I left the Army in October 2020 after years of active duty with two tours. I had horrible anxiety about going to my local VA to seek care. It's in the news always-- horror stories of the bad few nurses and providers that make the rest look awful. I had serious issues and felt I'd be just a burden at my local VA. Sarah proved me wrong. She was excited to meet me learn about me my past history and asked me if I needed anything for my VA claims (which I did). She did it with a smile on her face and all my anxiety went away. I felt relieved. I felt I could confide in her my issues without feeling like a number or like I was taking up her time. All the bad stories of awful VA nurses were disproven in that moment. I felt I had someone that could advocate for me and truly listen. She helped me get out of a dark time in my life. I will not lie. I bother her all the time. "Sarah, I need this medical record." Or "Sarah, I really need to see the Dr.!" She always attends to my needs with pride. And she answers me back the same day. You will not get that type of care anywhere else. She is an outstanding example of a nurse: one who provides care AND "care" for the veteran. I don't want another nurse. I want more nurses like her. Thanks for reading my story.

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This nurse makes a meaningful difference in my day every single day. She always has a good attitude and smiles always has my patients in the rooms on time and takes a minimal amount of time to get them worked up. She's very friendly to the patients I've seen her interact with them in teaching them how to use blood pressure cuffs etc. She always covers vaccine recommendations with them as well. When I ask her for help she always helps without any pushback. I also don't have to worry about whether she'll be at work or not.