We so appreciated having Marlene as my dad's nurse for three straight days. Marlene made us feel at ease with both aptitude and compassion during some of the most trying days of my dad's life. The many examples include:
Communicating calmly, in layman's terms for our understanding, and asking if we had any questions both prior to and following doctor's tests, procedures or next steps.
Being proactive and not reactive. She would anticipate when my dad might be in pain, could observe biometric changes that signaled distress (e.g., blood pressure) and make sure he was as comfortable as possible and as soon as possible. She even called to get meds faster with seeking doctor approval.
She always sought my dad's preferences even if he couldn't verbalize them. She asked me if he liked to sleep with his socks on or off and typically how much he chooses to take pain medication in daily life.
She found a creative way to test my dad's cognition and the neuro doctor was even surprised and asked how she did it. She asked him a series of yes/no questions (e.g., are you at the zoo?) to see if he could answer correctly. She even had me get up and talk to him and squeeze his hand to ask if I was his daughter; he nodded yes which made my day!
Marlene delayed her lunch at least three times to stay with my dad longer because he (and we) needed support. She got more meds for him, helped suction his breathing and followed up with doctor teams.
She stayed in the room with my dad almost the entire next day, since the day before was quite stressful. She knew we were on edge and she watched my dad like a hawk! When a PA was doing a neuro check, she stayed in the room even though the PA said she didn't have to. She responded, "I know, but he's been having breathing agitation whenever he's stimulated, so I want to make sure I'm here to help him." Wow, did that make us feel good and that she knew my dad and his needs.
Marlene was not too rushed to have multiple conversations with us about her personal life, which is such a nice break to think of something other than the injury and get to know the person. We learned about Marlene's cat Hemley (and her anxiety - poor girl!) and her extensive schooling at GVSU and Toledo. We learned the experiences with patients that impacted her career path into nursing and it just reaffirmed the level of care and concern she exhibits for all of them.
Last but not least, Marlene cared for us as a family too. She has a firm grasp that treating a patient is not only about the patient, but also about being attuned to family needs and dynamics. Countless times Marlene stopped her "medical duties" to console, encourage and support us all. This is the part of nursing that you cannot teach, it's innate and she excels at it.
It has been our pleasure to have Marlene, and all of your skilled Spectrum Health staff, care so highly for my dad both for his health and his future.
Thank you.