July 2016
Amanda
Chan
,
RN
General Medical Unit
Bronson Methodist Hospital
Kalamazoo
,
MI
United States
My grandfather was admitted for a twenty-day stay in the oncology unit. He has an incredibly rare diagnosis, and because of this there was a lot of confusion and several miscommunications between the doctors and family during his stay. Frustrations obviously rose the longer that we were there, but the one person that kept all of us sane was his nurse, Amanda. We felt that she more than anyone advocated for not only his, but also the family's needs and helped us understand everything that was going on in a way that the doctors couldn't. He often did not understand what the doctor was explaining but Amanda always explained it to him in a way that he could understand, which made him a happier and more cooperative patient. It was obvious that my grandpa preferred to be in her care; she was the only one that could get him to eat or get up to walk. He enjoyed bantering with her and she had no problem keeping up with his often snarky attitude, often making him laugh when he was down. If she did not have him as a patient that day, she still came at the beginning and end of her shift to check on him and see if we had any questions or concerns. I'm sure she has no idea how much that meant to both him and our family. There are no words that can describe what she did for us during those twenty days. She is a tremendous nurse that deserves every accolade out there. She signifies what nursing is supposed to be about.