Maria Nawrocki
October 2020
Maria
Nawrocki
,
RN
Intensive Care Unit
Hackettstown Medical Center
Hackettstown
,
NJ
United States
When my dad came to the ICU with sepsis piled onto a ton of other health issues, the doctors treated him like he was already dead, telling us that he soon would be. Wives, daughters crying in the waiting room... I'm sure this is nothing new for a nurse.
After his death prognosis, visitors flocked in. SO much so that Maria told my sister "he's never going to get better unless he rests". She went on to explain how it was too many people, it was too much. She was right; it was like a funeral procession. At that moment, I knew what a special person Maria was. Despite the doctors' warnings, she was trying to keep my father alive.
Maria was so sweet with my father, holding his hand and telling him how much she liked him. She was always around when he needed her. Regardless of the number of patients she was tending to, she never acted overwhelmed and was always attentive.
Maria told us "family members are the advocates for their patients". Being in and out of the hospital with my sick father over the past year, I have learned this to be true. It's not that the family members know more; it's that they care more, quite obviously. Maria cares for her patients as if they are her family. When I would leave the hospital, I would feel a certain level of peace when I know he was under her supervision.
She showed an unparalleled level of compassion for not only her patients but their families as well. She answered hundreds of questions for my family, showing no signs of impatience or frustration. She explained everything kindly and thoroughly so that we always knew what was going on.
Maria was a different kind of nurse. She was the only person in the hospital who believed that my father was going to get better. Perhaps she's the smartest one of all because her instincts were right- eventually, he did get better. Three weeks after his entry, my father was discharged from the hospital.
Maria, I cannot thank you enough for making our dark ten days in the ICU a little less scary. Thank you for believing in my father and giving my family hope. You are an exceptional nurse.
After his death prognosis, visitors flocked in. SO much so that Maria told my sister "he's never going to get better unless he rests". She went on to explain how it was too many people, it was too much. She was right; it was like a funeral procession. At that moment, I knew what a special person Maria was. Despite the doctors' warnings, she was trying to keep my father alive.
Maria was so sweet with my father, holding his hand and telling him how much she liked him. She was always around when he needed her. Regardless of the number of patients she was tending to, she never acted overwhelmed and was always attentive.
Maria told us "family members are the advocates for their patients". Being in and out of the hospital with my sick father over the past year, I have learned this to be true. It's not that the family members know more; it's that they care more, quite obviously. Maria cares for her patients as if they are her family. When I would leave the hospital, I would feel a certain level of peace when I know he was under her supervision.
She showed an unparalleled level of compassion for not only her patients but their families as well. She answered hundreds of questions for my family, showing no signs of impatience or frustration. She explained everything kindly and thoroughly so that we always knew what was going on.
Maria was a different kind of nurse. She was the only person in the hospital who believed that my father was going to get better. Perhaps she's the smartest one of all because her instincts were right- eventually, he did get better. Three weeks after his entry, my father was discharged from the hospital.
Maria, I cannot thank you enough for making our dark ten days in the ICU a little less scary. Thank you for believing in my father and giving my family hope. You are an exceptional nurse.