A few months ago, my dad was admitted into the ER via ambulance. I was here, at work, when I got the call that something has happened. At the time, we didn't know what, but he was on his way in an ambulance. I was terrified. My dad does not go to the hospital. My dad does not get sick. Something must be very wrong. My dad had a bleeding ulcer. He had passed out and was unresponsive when my brother found him. He needed surgery and blood transfusions and he needed them soon. During his ulcer surgery, they discovered that this ulcer was being fed by large vessels, and they could not stop the bleeding. He was rushed to another surgery. Finally, the surgeries were over, and successful. He was admitted into the ICU. At this point, I had been working at St. Joe for about 3 months. I was not very familiar with any of the nurses on the floor. I remember thinking "I hope he gets a good nurse" because I knew my dad. My dad doesn't ask for help. My dad doesn't want to bother anyone, ever. My dad wanted to get out and get back to work. I knew that he could easily be overlooked because he would never want to be a nuisance to anyone. I needed a nurse who would be proactive and make sure he had what he needed because I knew my dad wouldn't ask for anything at all.
This is where Julia comes in. Julia was the first nurse he had. She works third shift, so she was with him all night, and every night of his 3 day ICU stay. I work third shift as well, so I would sit with my dad every moment I got. But, I was still at work, and I couldn't be with him 24/7. Every time I went to check on my dad, if he wasn't sleeping, he was chatting with Julia. They discussed all kinds of things. My dad isn't particularly social, so I was really impressed she could find so much in common with him. I could tell my dad was comfortable around her. When I would ask him if he needed anything, he almost always told me no, but said if he did, and I wasn't around, he would rather wait until Julia came in anyway. He felt more comfortable asking her. I could tell she made him feel like he was not a nuisance. She connected with him and made him feel like a person at a time when my dad was feeling very emotional and upset that for the first time, he was unable to care for himself for a period of time. I wish you could understand how much this bothered my dad, that he had to ask for help for simple things. He is the most independent and hardworking person I have ever known. He told me how embarrassed he felt. But he didn't feel that way with Julia. And I didn't feel uneasy leaving him. I didn't know Julia prior to this experience, but I immediately felt so at ease knowing she was there with him. She knew what he needed, and she asked him so that he didn't have to ask her. She knew exactly what was going on with him. She always kept us both informed. But the most important part was that she treated my dad as her own dad. And now that I have seen Julia interact with other patients, I realized that my dad was no unique case. She treats every patient like they are her family.
My dad is out of the hospital now. It's been several months. And he still asks me about Julia. And I hope that she knows what a difference she made in my dad's care. I wouldn't have traded her for the world.