It has been almost two years since I met and had the good fortune of having Desiree Brown as my husband B's nurse. Since we moved to Arizona in December 2016 he had lost a great deal of weight because of recurring pneumonia and was scheduled to receive a feeding tube as an outpatient. Before we could check-in, he spiked a fever. Our primary care physician advised us to have him admitted to the hospital rather than do the procedure outpatient. It turned out he had pneumonia again and his stay was longer than anticipated or desired. B was 91 years of age, a retired professional bowler, and normally still fit and active. He also had many drug allergies, was taking daily medication for dementia - barely discernable but still a concern when it came to anesthesia and some medications and had lung scarring which started with asthma as a child.
Because his primary care physician was no longer making hospital visits, his treatment was guided by professionals making sound medical decisions but, so it seemed, without having time or background to understand B as an individual and more importantly, a geriatric one. My input or questions as his wife of 48 years and current caregiver was many times viewed as interference or initially ignored. Thankfully, even with a full patient load, Desiree was not only his physical nurse but found the time to knowledgeably and compassionately oversee and help coordinate his care with other departments, nurses and doctors. This included working with intervention radiology to get his tube placed with their normal procedure and minimal medication, rather than in-patient surgery and helping us navigate the dietary requests and physical problems afterward. As a side note, once home, B regained 20 pounds, maintained his weight, and the tube was removed before Christmas 2017.
Unfortunately, there were subsequent hospital visits in 2018 for many reasons. The only bright side was Desiree always seemed to find us and if nothing else, offer encouragement for me, a hot cup of coffee and support.
When a mishap with B's IV spurted blood all over, including on my T-shirt and sweatshirt, it was Desiree (not our nurse that day) who was appalled at how I looked and found me a clean T-shirt since I always refused to leave him alone and go home. I was never her actual patient, but in a way I was.
Desiree Brown is a true DAISY Nurse. She is the total package, every day. Mercy Gilbert or any hospital is privileged to have her on their staff.
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Excellent care! Personable! Really bonded! Kind-caring. Willing to go that extra mile!
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I had the true honor of being cared for by Desiree during one of my days at the hospital. Her kindness and compassion know no end. She took an immediate interest in learning more about me and my rare disease that I was hospitalized with complications from. I am always so appreciative of nurses who take an interest in my disease so that they can provide me the best care possible. So here is this wonderful nurse, Desiree, who is kind and compassionate to all of her patients and yet she walks into my hospital room and compliments ME on being a strong person who continues to smile and be bright despite adversity. Her sweet comment to me brought me tears of joy. This disease is tough and to have a healthcare worker tell me I am handling it with grace meant a lot to me. Thank you, Desiree, and thank you MGMC for employing such kind, caring people!