Sonia Huebner
May 2017
Sonia
Huebner
,
RN
Hospital Pavilion Operating Room
Anne Arundel Medical Center
Annapolis
,
MD
United States
I received a text from my friend informing me that his mom was in the hospital and was not doing well. She had internal bleeding and was being rushed to the OR for emergency surgery. With minimal information, I made a statement to our general surgery team leader, and one of my best friends at work, Sonia Huebner, asking her to make sure they take good care of my friend's mom. Having full confidence in every member of our team, I thought nothing of this. Over the events that transpired over the next two hours Sonia and our entire surgical services family embodied everything that being a caregiver is about, and the definition of a Champion at AAMC.
After I made my simple request, Sonia pulled me aside to inform me that this case was not straightforward, that my friend's mom was very sick, and that she would do it herself. As her patient was in the process of being transferred from the ICU, Sonia led a preoperative huddle with anesthesia to discuss concerns and the strategy for managing what was certain to be a challenging case. Before the patient was in the operating room, a multidisciplinary plan was established and all hands were on deck to give the patient the best care possible.
My friend's mom died in the operating room that day. Following the surgery, I met my friend and his family in the area where they waited to say their final goodbyes, the surgery conference room where we conduct meetings on a daily basis. I sat with them, with nothing to say, gave them hugs and cried with them.
The operating room is a black box to patients and their families. Beyond a brief interaction with the nurse as their loved one is taken away, they do not know what goes on behind the scenes or the efforts taken to ensure their loved ones are safe. My friend will never know how many people worked together to save his mom. To put this in perspective, in just the final minutes of her life, 3 anesthesiologists, 2 surgeons, 7 nurses, a PA and, 3 techs worked as one unit to give her the best chance to return to her family. This is 13 people, not including the countless others who were involved in her care.
Sonia Huebner was just one member of the care team that day. She would undoubtedly say that she was just doing her job. But to me she did more than a job, she fought for my friend's mom's life, and when, despite all of the team's efforts, she could not be saved, Sonia went back to her other job - being my friend.
After I made my simple request, Sonia pulled me aside to inform me that this case was not straightforward, that my friend's mom was very sick, and that she would do it herself. As her patient was in the process of being transferred from the ICU, Sonia led a preoperative huddle with anesthesia to discuss concerns and the strategy for managing what was certain to be a challenging case. Before the patient was in the operating room, a multidisciplinary plan was established and all hands were on deck to give the patient the best care possible.
My friend's mom died in the operating room that day. Following the surgery, I met my friend and his family in the area where they waited to say their final goodbyes, the surgery conference room where we conduct meetings on a daily basis. I sat with them, with nothing to say, gave them hugs and cried with them.
The operating room is a black box to patients and their families. Beyond a brief interaction with the nurse as their loved one is taken away, they do not know what goes on behind the scenes or the efforts taken to ensure their loved ones are safe. My friend will never know how many people worked together to save his mom. To put this in perspective, in just the final minutes of her life, 3 anesthesiologists, 2 surgeons, 7 nurses, a PA and, 3 techs worked as one unit to give her the best chance to return to her family. This is 13 people, not including the countless others who were involved in her care.
Sonia Huebner was just one member of the care team that day. She would undoubtedly say that she was just doing her job. But to me she did more than a job, she fought for my friend's mom's life, and when, despite all of the team's efforts, she could not be saved, Sonia went back to her other job - being my friend.