Recently, my 76-year-old mother was in the ER at Ascension Anderson. She had been there 10 days prior and received staples on the top of her head due to a fall. She went to get the stitches out, and her head was still gaping open.

The doctor came in to speak with us and told us she would have to have surgery to clean the wound out. He spoke about putting a tube down her throat and completely putting her to sleep. At that point, my mother was crying and really scared. When the nurse came in, he did a really good job at calming her. Once he was told this was the procedure that was going to happen, he went to the doctor and advocated for my mom.

His opinion was that she just needed a twilight sleep or a light sedation to be able to clean out the wound and re-suture it. He went and spoke to the doctor, and the doctor agreed. They ended up using the twilight sleep, and she was able to go home the same night. I believe nurse Zayne went above and beyond to advocate for my mother’s care.