Shavonne Parchman
November 2019
Shavonne
Parchman
,
RN
CCC/CVOR
Elkhart General Hospital
Elkhart
,
IN
United States
I was admitted to another unit initially and within 3 days was transferred to critical care, not realizing how sick I was or that I was even short of breath when they asked how I was breathing. Shavonne was my night shift nurse for 3 nights in a row and always demonstrated compassion and kindness in the care she provided, explained care or medication, was never rushed even though I knew things were busy and limited bed availability and was a source of comfort while I was there.
It was important that I was able to shower. I had been running high temps, sweating, and felt I just needed to shower. The bag baths might be great but can only do so much to make you feel clean. It makes a world of difference for how you feel and your outlook on the day. Without "telling" on her, she secretly got me off the unit to take a shower in a unit that had left for the day around 11 pm. This is something I had not been able to do for several days due to my respiratory status and being in the unit connected to monitors. I had asked the MD earlier in the day and he said "no", so the day shift nurse encouraged me to wait until evening when the other nurse returned to see if we could make it happen. I know some patients overestimate their ability to function independently and I found myself doing the same thing when she snuck me off the unit. It took quite a while to recover from the SOB and I didn't even have the strength to comb out my own hair or put it up when I returned to the room. She took the time to comb through all the knots and put it up for me. I was extremely grateful for her trusting me to "behave" medically so that I could feel better about myself and my appearance. Little did we know this was the last shower until I returned home from IU another week later.
She did all this with a compassionate heart, kindness, grace, trust in my ability and strength, and was a true advocate for patient needs and care! It might seem insignificant to others, but she took a chance on me and listened to what I needed to feel better that was not medically induced. Thank you for everything else she and her team did! I am forever grateful.
It was important that I was able to shower. I had been running high temps, sweating, and felt I just needed to shower. The bag baths might be great but can only do so much to make you feel clean. It makes a world of difference for how you feel and your outlook on the day. Without "telling" on her, she secretly got me off the unit to take a shower in a unit that had left for the day around 11 pm. This is something I had not been able to do for several days due to my respiratory status and being in the unit connected to monitors. I had asked the MD earlier in the day and he said "no", so the day shift nurse encouraged me to wait until evening when the other nurse returned to see if we could make it happen. I know some patients overestimate their ability to function independently and I found myself doing the same thing when she snuck me off the unit. It took quite a while to recover from the SOB and I didn't even have the strength to comb out my own hair or put it up when I returned to the room. She took the time to comb through all the knots and put it up for me. I was extremely grateful for her trusting me to "behave" medically so that I could feel better about myself and my appearance. Little did we know this was the last shower until I returned home from IU another week later.
She did all this with a compassionate heart, kindness, grace, trust in my ability and strength, and was a true advocate for patient needs and care! It might seem insignificant to others, but she took a chance on me and listened to what I needed to feel better that was not medically induced. Thank you for everything else she and her team did! I am forever grateful.