Carol was my nurse when I first got to SHRB in the ICU. She was extremely attentive to my needs, but I need to honestly say that I don't remember a lot about my first stay in the ICU. I was then transferred to the Neuro floor but then had a relapse and had to go back to the ICU. Carol was there the next night and I was ecstatic. I remembered her from earlier in the week.
On my 6th night in the hospital, I had a total breakdown. I was hysterical, needed to be out of there ASAP and even insisted Carol call the on-call neurologist to see if they would still treat me if I checked myself out. She was amazing! She was so patient and calm with me. She took me around the hospital because I was unable to sit still without breaking into hysterics. I happened to be her only patient that evening, so she was able to spend a lot of one on one time with me. She walked and talked with me to try to calm me down. She showed me the history of the hospital and even introduced me to her old coworkers because I needed to keep my brain occupied. She didn't have to do any of that. ICU patients aren't typically as mobile as I was so she could have just told me I had to stay in my room and just talk to me there. I panicked every time I had to get into bed and so it made it even more special to me that she took the time to walk me around the hospital. She demonstrated such respect and care. It helped me make it through the night. I was finally able to lay in bed and get a few hours of sleep. I was being transferred out to the neuro floor in the late morning, so I really just had to make it through the night and she made that possible. I would have checked myself out and risked everything if she hadn't shown me the care that she did.
She also showed an immense amount of care for my husband. He was by my side every minute and she took care of him too. She went above and beyond to make sure that he was as comfortable as he could be while he stressed about what I was going through. She got him anything he needed and truly cared about his well-being. I have never met anyone as kind, caring and attentive as Carol and I wanted to recognize her for everything she did for our family.