My husband came to the Hixson ER and was admitted. After a couple of days and several tests, it was determined that he needed to be transferred to the downtown campus and was diagnosed with heart failure and coronary artery disease.
My husband is a very stubborn man, as is the case with many men concerning visiting a doctor. So, after 67 years of only seeing a doctor a few times, my husband found himself in pretty bad shape and this time he wasn't going to get better by waiting it out. He is old school and doesn't show fear, as that, in his eyes would make him appear weak. But, as his wife of 46 years, I saw the fear and it was a strange and unsettling thing to see. His father and brother died after being in the hospital for only a few days and that seemed to play a role in his aversion to hospitals.
I will never forget how sweet and friendly Summer was, every time she came into our room. All smiles and cheer. She took a dark and fearful situation and infused it with sunshine and brightened our moods and briefly made us forget the bleak situation we were suddenly facing. We actually looked forward to seeing her come in. We both agreed that she is a sweetheart that actually cares about her patients and efficiently goes about the task of taking care of them. Not to say that the other nurses didn't do their job well and weren't friendly.
It is our hope that in the future we will be so blessed to have other nurses as sweet and kind as Summer Lanter.