Ellen Demaira
January 2019
Ellen
Demaira
,
RN
7th Medical
Mayo Clinic Health System: Franciscan Healthcare
La Crosse
,
WI
United States
Ellen was my 85-year-old mom's nurse over a weekend in the hospital; she was working the 7am-7pm shift Friday-Sunday. This happened to be the days that my mom took a turn for the worse. On Saturday, my mom became very confused, to the point that I was unable to talk her down from it, which I usually can. I had been at the hospital in the morning visiting but felt comfortable enough with Ellen there to take a break and go home for a bit. I did not have any reservations about leaving my mom in her care. When I went back later in the day, I found Ellen in the room with my mom, trying to make her feel ok, even though she was totally confused.
The real special part of Ellen's care came on Sunday morning; my mom's heart rate had dropped into the thirties and Ellen called me right away, so I was able to get to the hospital. While I was on my way, she called again to let me know they were going to give her medicine to increase her heart rate. Since I was only a few minutes away, she did hold off on it till I arrived, so I was able to be there when it was given. She continued to show compassion and truly cared what my mom and our family were going through.
With the news of the heart rate dropping, I wanted to have my brother involved and he was just diagnosed with cancer a couple of days earlier and has been sick for a couple of months. He was also suffering from a fractured shoulder. His cancer was making him feel very nauseated and the pain from the shoulder was severe. My mom was not in a private room at this time, so we were sitting in the lobby instead of her room, so my brother was able to be comfortable. My mom was sleeping at this time and we were in a waiting pattern to see what her heart rate did with the medicine that was given.
Before I knew it, Ellen had talked to the right people and my mom was moved to a private room, so we were able to be with her and still have my brother be comfortable. It is not just one thing that Ellen did for our family, but an entire weekend of providing not only quality care but true compassion for all of those involved. Ellen was an outstanding care provider for my mom and allowed me to feel comfortable about not being able to be there all the time.
The real special part of Ellen's care came on Sunday morning; my mom's heart rate had dropped into the thirties and Ellen called me right away, so I was able to get to the hospital. While I was on my way, she called again to let me know they were going to give her medicine to increase her heart rate. Since I was only a few minutes away, she did hold off on it till I arrived, so I was able to be there when it was given. She continued to show compassion and truly cared what my mom and our family were going through.
With the news of the heart rate dropping, I wanted to have my brother involved and he was just diagnosed with cancer a couple of days earlier and has been sick for a couple of months. He was also suffering from a fractured shoulder. His cancer was making him feel very nauseated and the pain from the shoulder was severe. My mom was not in a private room at this time, so we were sitting in the lobby instead of her room, so my brother was able to be comfortable. My mom was sleeping at this time and we were in a waiting pattern to see what her heart rate did with the medicine that was given.
Before I knew it, Ellen had talked to the right people and my mom was moved to a private room, so we were able to be with her and still have my brother be comfortable. It is not just one thing that Ellen did for our family, but an entire weekend of providing not only quality care but true compassion for all of those involved. Ellen was an outstanding care provider for my mom and allowed me to feel comfortable about not being able to be there all the time.