I called to speak with a patient because I heard he had a concern during a recent appointment. I spoke with his wife - The patient has a head and neck cancer and it is a real strain for him to speak. His wife expressed how much she appreciated Susan Stottlemyer, her husband's nurse, during their last visit. She said her husband had really been struggling with the radiation treatment and after the last check up with the physician, he was ready to quit. Then Susie took some time to listen.
The patient had not been sleeping; he had mucus and was often gagging, because he was not able to drink water and had not been taking his medicine. Susie took some time to educate and explain to the couple how a feeding tube could be inserted to help. The patient's wife explained that she knew he was in a lot of pain and knew it was bad because he had been crying. He just couldn't take the liquid pain medicine. Susie went to the physician and requested an order for a Fentanly patch for the patient's pain. According to his wife, the patient hugged Susie before they left that day.
The next day, they sent Susie flowers to say Thank you! The talk and the changes made all the difference and the patient completed his treatment. The patient's wife said, "It's because she listened and cared enough to help".