I had the privilege of having Kathleen as my nurse today for my EGD. I want to preface this by saying that Kathleen was not scheduled to work today; she was on call, but who wants to work a Sunday on a holiday weekend?! From the moment she picked me up to take me down to the procedure room until the time she dropped me back off at my room, I could tell that she truly cared about my needs. I was never once treated like I was just another patient. The first thing she told me when we got to the procedure area is that there could possibly be a little bit of a delay and to just sit back and relax. I told her I was bummed because I forgot my phone upstairs, which would have given me something to do. Forgetting my phone was the best thing that ever happened. Kathleen knew I hadn't had visitors to keep me company, so she took it upon herself to keep me company. In the roughly one hour that we talked, she told me the most amazing stories, from her love of open water swimming to her 40+ years of nursing. I truly felt as though I was talking to my grandmother, who I absolutely love to hear stories of her past. She made me that comfortable! She also smiled so often, which after being in isolation was a breath of fresh air. Even though she stood at my bedside talking, she always found a way to gauge my needs, and then immediately take care of them. For instance, I have always dreaded having a nasal cannula in my nose. When I asked her if I could take it out until the doctor arrived, she explained to me that it was needed to stay in so that they could monitor my breathing. Within a few minutes, she thought of the solution to turn the amount of oxygen I was getting down because it still allowed her to monitor my breathing. After that, I didn't even realize I had the nasal cannula. As a chronic pain patient, I am treated poorly by a lot of people in the medical field. In the 6 years, I have beenbattling my auto-immune diseases, she was by far the best nurse I have ever had. She was filled with compassion, but even took it a step further and was an inspiration to me. Any patient who is fortunate to have Kathleen as their nurse is extremely fortunate.
Note: This is Kathleen's 2nd DAISY Award!