My husband had been in the hospital since Monday. He was in constant pain and in the last stages of his battle with prostate cancer. He was admitted with a severe bladder infection and under treatment for that. He also had several orthopedic problems of long-standing. He had a right leg amputation, and as the cancer had metastasized to his bones, he had serious spine pain.
Crystal was the first nurse that picked up on the observation that my husband was not able to distinguish between levels of pain and the location of the pain. He would slide down in bed, have back discomfort and ask for pain medication. She ordered wedges instead of pillows and had him repositioned every two hours. This made a tremendous difference for him, his comfort actually and my comfort.
I had mentioned to the hospitalist on duty that day, that when they repositioned my husband, he thought they had given him pain meds and was quieter and resting. The doctor agreed with me and said they needed to balance his medication. So, I thank Crystal for her dedication and professionalism and keen observation that helped my husband.
This memory comforts me as my husband lost his long, and Crystal provided for his comfort that last week.