I would like to share a story about a phenomenal nurse name Linda who not only saved my husband's life but changed mine as well. In September 2018 my husband was found unresponsive at home after an ER visit the night before where he was diagnosed with anemia and a Hemoglobin of 7.0. and sent home. He was taken by ambulance to Silver Cross and was admitted into ICU. His hemoglobin dropped to 5.0 and it was discovered that he has a severe GI bleed. He was given a total of 17 units of blood in the 3-week span he was in the ICU.
During that time he was under great care of the many nurses and doctors on his case, however, this one nurse stuck out, Linda! On her first shift with him, she came in and assessed him and took a stand! She used her clinical judgment instead of just following orders and demanded that he be treated by EICU, the house supervisor, house physician, and anyone else she felt could help him. She took a stand and spoke up and advocated for him saying "I don't like what's going on". It wasn't good enough for her to just keep giving blood and not coming up with a clinical solution with his care team to resolve the bleed after two and a half weeks of just giving blood.
I am forever grateful for her courage. The RNs on ICU do practically all of their own patient care; baths, blood sugars, everything, especially at night where there were rarely any aids on the floor. This leads me to explain how Linda changed my life. Because my husband was bleeding so bad and was so weak, the nurses wouldn't even have enough time to chart let alone doing the fantastic patient care they do, so I committed to using my experience as a CNA as well as my dedication and love for my husband to stay with him and help do all the cleaning and bathing for him. Every day the nurses expressed their gratitude to me and really appreciated my help. But it was Linda who kept planting a seed of greatness in me by suggesting that I should work at Silver Cross because I was doing such a good job with him and would fit right in with the team. Day after day she would tell me this.
While my husband recovered I decided that I would love to be a part of this organization at Silver Cross and pay all the love and care that was shown to us forward to someone else's family. My husband and I were so blessed by the staff at Silver Cross from the housekeepers who would come in and mop up the floors every day, to the dietary staff in the cafeteria when I would go get breakfast in the morning everyone was a blessing to come in contact with.
On the morning of my birthday the Manager over ICU called me in for an interview and I was hired soon after and started as a unit clerk on the very unit I fell in love with. I am proud to be here and continue with the hospital's motto of treating people "The Way They Should Be Treated".
My husband made a full recovery and I have begun a new career and I am forever thankful to Linda for helping with both. I see Linda now on a daily basis and get emotional because words can't express how I feel. When I think I want to tell her I can't get the right words or I feel like I will break down and cry tears of joy. I decided to write this letter because she is a true example of "see something say something", going through the chain of commands when there is a problem, exceptional critical thinking skills, and just a caring and encouraging person overall. I pray this letter gets in the right hands. She is a true DAISY Nurse in my eyes.