One morning, while working as a nurse, I received the phone call all nurses dread. It was from my father stating that my mother woke up and was struggling to move her right arm and to even walk. She was rushed to the emergency department at Meridian Park hospital where she was diagnosed with a watershed stroke. As a nurse who mostly works with stroke patients, I was shocked and scared. It is such a humbling experience when a person you love dearly is the patient in the bed, you feel out of control and terrified.
After the emergency department, my mother was then transferred to IMCU where she had Shirley as her nurse for 4 days. Shirley was such a blessing for my family. My mother had no risk factors associated with having a stroke so as you can imagine this came as a huge shock to my whole family. Shirley was amazing and was a constant reassurance to all of us. She was extremely knowledgeable, proficient and compassionate (everything you want from the nurse caring for your mother). My mother felt extremely comfortable in her care and after being up all night, I was extremely comfortable leaving to shower, change clothes and even sleep. Shirley was understanding of my desire to help care for my mother and would allow me to assist which was really important to Mom. She displayed confidence and ease during all interactions. She provided excellent education to my mother and would frequently update us on the plan of care, new tests, etc. We felt very informed during our interactions with Shirley.
Everyone at Meridian Park was great during my mother's stay and we are so thankful for the doctors, nurses, lab and other essential staff who cared for my mother. Shirley is someone who will always stick in our minds as the nurse who helped my mother through her stroke and we can't thank her enough.