Kristi was our nurse the day we needed someone truly special. She was the angel I had prayed for. It was the week before Christmas; my husband began having brief dizzy spells. The second day he passed out. We contacted his cardiologist. A 24-hour monitor showed the ventricles were beating irregularly. He was told to report to the Cath lab expecting a stent or defibrillator. We were shocked to learn he needed bypass surgery. He never had chest pain or shortness of breath. He was on Plavix so surgery could not be done for 7 days. We lived over 50 miles from the hospital and his condition required a constant monitor as another attack could be fatal, therefore, that day we began a 2 week "holiday" stay in the hospital. No incidents occurred and F had too much time to think about his upcoming surgery. Eventually, he could not sleep. He was about to convince himself there was a mistake, he did not need surgery. He wanted to go home. I stayed with him throughout these days and could see how unsure he felt. When you don't feel bad it's hard to believe you are seriously ill. That night I prayed God would send an angel to calm and assure F. I don't know exactly what she said, but somehow Kristi reached him as not even the doctors could. She took time to go over every detail of his condition putting it in words we could understand; even rounded up illustrations to make it clear. She assured him he was like an old BMW with 200,000 miles; just give it a tune-up and a few new parts and its good for another 200,000. Somehow his fears settled, and he became resigned to the surgery as necessary.
Following the surgery, all seemed well but shortly after, F coded with a ventricular tachycardia episode. During those long minutes, while the doctors and nurses worked with him, I stood in the hall crying and begging God to save him. Kristi, who happened to be caring for the room next to us, saw I was falling apart. She stepped up, held my hand until F was stable. She was able to still see her patient from her location. That simple act meant so much.
From the day we met until the day F was released, whenever she was on duty, she would stop in to check on us after her shift. Her actions may not seem heroic by some standards but they were for us.