My wife entered the hospital for treatment of possible ovarian cancer. The surgery initially went well, the removed mass was benign, however complications in the days following the procedure with a sudden drop in her blood pressure moved her to Surgical ICU which is where we first met Sally Gillam. Although not her originally assigned RN that day, Sally referred to herself as "an extra set of hands", and got my wife settled in. Throughout her initial arrival in the SICU unit, Sally took the time to not only make her as comfortable as possible but made a special effort to communicate with me about what was going on and why. As what seemed an endless stream of doctors, nurses, techs and support staff came through, Sally made sure my wife and I understood what was going on and why. She made sense of the organized confusion and assured us all would be fine. In the days that followed in the unit, Sally was my wife's assigned RN on several occasions and even when not, she would stop by and see how my wife was doing.
During a week in the unit her condition worsened taking her to surgery a second time and once again Sally was there with support and understanding. It was Sally who helped my wife's sisters understand the seriousness of her condition and reassurance of the skillful care she was receiving. She was discharged from the hospital and continues her recovery at home.
Sally has been a bright spot in an extremely difficult time in our lives and we wish to express our appreciation for her skill and compassion.