The last time I was in the hospital was the day I was born. At 67 years old my knowledge and experience with the medical profession was quite limited. After my emergency surgery, I was kept in the ICU in a coma, for six days. My total time in the ICU would last three weeks.
I have been told that my first encounter with ICU Nurse Brittany Ammon, was when she offered her services to install IV lines in each of my arms. I was unconscious, but after several unsuccessful attempts from a surgeon to find a vein, Brittany stepped up. She found a vein, in each arm, on the first try. In order not to fault or embarrass the surgeon in any way, her response to him indicated that nurses simply have a lot more experience with drawing blood than doctors.
The day I woke up after my surgeries, I was able to meet Brittany with her sparkling personality. Every once in a while you meet certain people that outshine most others. Brittany Ammon happens to be one of those people. From my very first interaction with her, Brittany displayed the ability to make me feel that someone really cared about my wellbeing and paid attention not only to my physical needs but my emotional ones as well.
According to my caregiver, Brittany gave him the ability to not worry about me, since he knew someone else was very concerned about the type of care I was receiving, not only from the nurses but the doctors as well. Realizing that I would have to deal with these health issues for the next six months, especially since I had never had an issue before, this situation was taking its toll on me emotionally. Brittany recognized this and was a constant source of encouragement for me.
The most amazing thing about her is that she does not even realize how special she is. She believes everyone in healthcare is this way. Needless to say, not everyone has the empathy, compassion, or personality to do the job of an ICU Nurse, in the way Brittany does. In the three weeks I was in ICU, I saw Brittany almost every day whether she was my assigned nurse or not.
To ensure that I looked my best, even in a hospital setting, Brittany offered to shave me, like she did her father when she was younger. Being able to control a razor around the hoses in my face made the task more difficult, but she managed to make me look and feel "normal" again.
Brushing my teeth for me also added back a sense of normalcy. Even after being transferred to another hospital floor, out of ICU, Brittany would visit me regularly. She was making sure she knew how much progress I had with my wound care as well as my physical and occupational therapy. When I was transferred to a rehab facility, Brittany would keep in touch via text until she physically came to see me in person to verify my progress. She managed to visit me twice at rehab before I was released to go home.
Even now as I improve at home, I am receiving regular texts asking for updates about my progress. Through life, there has to be a "silver lining" concerning every challenge presented. As difficult as my recovery has been, my greatest unexpected gift is receiving a friendship with an ICU Nurse who proved to be not only an exceptional nurse but a truly exceptional human being. I cannot totally express how appreciative I am that Brittany Ammon has become part of my life.