I have been a nurse for more than 10 years and spent nearly all of that time in the acute hospital setting. My mother was admitted to La Grange Hospital for a right hip fracture, which she had been walking on for nearly 3 weeks before it was discovered! My mom was in pain, had difficulty moving, was worried about what was going to happen. She was especially stressed after her surgery was delayed for more than 4 days. Shane was amazing. I flew in from out of state the night she was admitted and spent nearly every day there with my mother.

One day, I was talking to this Nurse about how much my mom wanted to visit with her dog, P. My mom lives alone with P and did not get to say goodbye to her before going into the hospital for what was going to be a much longer hospital stay than anticipated. She needed surgery, inpatient rehab, and had multiple health issues that complicated her plan of care. Shane suggested that perhaps we could allow my mother to see P before she went for surgery. Then she made it happen. She asked permission from the doctors to get my mom into a wheelchair and bring her to the front doors of the hospital, then set up a time with me to get P and bring her to the hospital and coordinated with her coworkers and leadership to get the time to make this meeting possible. She personally took my mother downstairs and gave her the time to say goodbye to P before having surgery.

I realize this is no easy feat to accomplish. Shane took time out of her busy day caring for multiple other patients, to ensure that my mom had this chance to see her dog. She gave up her personal time to help my mother and made her hospital stay, and mental wellbeing, just a little bit brighter. I am sure that this caring and personal attention is why my mother was able to do so well with surgery, and recovery. Shane took the time to talk to my mother, find out what could improve her spirits, and then took the initiative to make it happen. The care she delivered was outstanding. I believe that this individualized care is what all nurses should strive for, and she set a perfect example of personalized, professional, and caring nursing practice. LaGrange Hospital, this nurse, and the staff on my mom’s unit are forever in my debt for the amazing care that they provided to my mother.