I went into the ICU on an emergency status. I was transferred from Shawnee to OKC due to the level of care I needed. When I arrived in OKC everything happened so fast, doctors, nurses, surgeon swarmed in. I was unaware of how sick I truly was, and my family was unaware as well. Shelbi not only took care of me, but she took care of my family. From the minute I was admitted to the ICU, she stood firm in making sure we knew what was going on and why. She gave compassion that I have never seen from a nurse, and every second she was with me, she had a comforting smile. She explained every detail to my family in terms they could understand. When I finally woke up, she treated me like family and a patient. I do not remember about 7 days of my life, and when I did wake up, Shelbi made me feel like she was going through it with me. She never made me feel like just a patient; she was there cheering me on but also making sure I was doing what I was supposed to do to be able to see my children again.

I know there are many great nurses, but none of them measure up to Shelbi. She breaks the mold of going above and beyond, not just as a patient but for my family as well. It has been 3 weeks since I have been out of the hospital, and we are still so very thankful and blessed to have gotten the chance to have her as our nurse. I say ours because she included my family in everything and never made them feel like they wouldn’t understand while never breaking out of nurse mode. I think she deserves more than just a thank you or a good job. Shelbi is a one of a kind nurse and person, I feel she helped me out of a very dark time in my life and kept on til she knew I was going to be OK. I owe her so much more than just a thank you. SSM has a special nurse working with them, and I hope she knows the significant impact she has and how exceptional and thankful I am for the care and compassion she showed me.