I'm sure you have heard this before. The months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds leading up to surgery are excruciating. I know because my son has been under anesthesia 30+ times. I stopped counting when we reached the thirties.
He was born with a rare craniofacial syndrome called Pfeiffer. For him, that meant premature fusion of his skull bones and his midface doesn't grow. He also lost vision in one eye as a result of surgery years ago. I share that to give you insight into another layer of anxiety we feel when surgery is looming in our future. We were fortunate to find Dr. F who brought calmness to our journey with Pfeiffer Syndrome. A calm that we desperately needed. Through Dr. F we were introduced to Medical City.
My son is now 14-years-old and he had another surgery at Medical City. He spent two nights in the hospital. We had many wonderful nurses but one, in particular, stood out. As we drove away from the hospital, my son talked about Corey. Corey came up in conversation a number of times while my son recovered at a nearby hotel. On our long drive back we talked about Corey again and again! It was pretty obvious that she made an impression on our family and made a difference.
My son noticed how she was so careful and honest with him. He had a skull reconstruction which means a lot of swelling and his eyes were swollen shut. Scary, when you can't see who is in the room and what they are doing. She explained what she was about to do and involved him. She was honest about how it would feel. She helped wash his head and his painful incision and was so calm and careful and made my son feel safe.
It is nurses like Corey who create a bright spot for families to (at least for a moment) reduce the stress and anxiety of a surgery.
One thing is certain. You are meant to be a nurse and a very special one, you are! Thank you!