December 2018
Tasha
Green
,
RN
Center for Cancer Care
Gwinnett Medical Center
Lawrenceville
,
GA
United States
My faith in humanity has been quite shaky at most. I guess you can say, I find myself having to be quite guarded for most of my life. So naturally, upon coming to the Cancer Center, I was withdrawn from any expectation. As it turns out, coming here to fight my cancer was exactly what I needed. Beyond a kind staff of nurses, who attended care for my chemo treatments, I found my disdained reservations towards humanity dissolving. It seems like I forgot what genuine concerns for others looked like.
Chemo has been a battle on every level for me. Yet throughout my storm of emotions and vomiting was one particular nurse who managed to make me laugh and see humans in a different light. I believe for such a tiny person, she is unaware of the large impact she has on her patients. Just by being her humorous self, I found myself and other patients distracted from the campaign of nausea, even if only for a brief moment. She apparently gets so lost in the service of patients that she genuinely enjoys her work. Even when the entire ward is full, she and all the nurses manage themselves and their duties with such collective composures that they make the demands of their jobs seem like second nature. For me, this is refreshing to see a part of humanity finally working in sync. She is very thorough when it comes to her work and diligent with the protocol. As she administers medications, she ensures another nurse is present to verify mediations. They are very keen on wearing protective gear and managing the side effects of our therapy. Not to say we are being pampered but these nurses were genuine in monitoring our side effects and did whatever possible to make patients comfortable. So I simply want to say "thank you" to this nurse and to all the nurses here. I know she would say she was just doing her job, but by being herself, working in harmonious sync with the entire ward, during such a trying time on my way to recovery, you all have my eternal gratitude. I don't know what the culture is called here, but this center should keep it going. I encourage other cancer patients to come here to see what it looks like when a nurse loses herself in service of others, without requiring thanks.
Chemo has been a battle on every level for me. Yet throughout my storm of emotions and vomiting was one particular nurse who managed to make me laugh and see humans in a different light. I believe for such a tiny person, she is unaware of the large impact she has on her patients. Just by being her humorous self, I found myself and other patients distracted from the campaign of nausea, even if only for a brief moment. She apparently gets so lost in the service of patients that she genuinely enjoys her work. Even when the entire ward is full, she and all the nurses manage themselves and their duties with such collective composures that they make the demands of their jobs seem like second nature. For me, this is refreshing to see a part of humanity finally working in sync. She is very thorough when it comes to her work and diligent with the protocol. As she administers medications, she ensures another nurse is present to verify mediations. They are very keen on wearing protective gear and managing the side effects of our therapy. Not to say we are being pampered but these nurses were genuine in monitoring our side effects and did whatever possible to make patients comfortable. So I simply want to say "thank you" to this nurse and to all the nurses here. I know she would say she was just doing her job, but by being herself, working in harmonious sync with the entire ward, during such a trying time on my way to recovery, you all have my eternal gratitude. I don't know what the culture is called here, but this center should keep it going. I encourage other cancer patients to come here to see what it looks like when a nurse loses herself in service of others, without requiring thanks.