Nobody dreams of being in a medical situation with a loved one who feels hopeless and makes one feel so helpless. Recently, my family found ourselves trapped in a nightmare. My mom had been told two days prior to that date that she needed emergency open heart surgery. My mom went into her heart catheter procedure completely independent and a pretty healthy and well-controlled type 1 diabetic. We assumed she would just need a stent in a vessel then get to go home, back to her normal life. Unfortunately for us, that did not happen. Following her transfer from surgery to the CVICU my mom had a stroke, a side effect of irritating the heart for surgery. She remained difficult to wake and unable to be extubated for 2 days.
On day 2 post op we met the most wonderful, positive person that we were blessed to have as my mom's nurse for the next two days. She introduced herself as Maddy and gave me the greatest sense of peace I had felt in those last 48 hours. Our goal for that day was for my mom to be extubated. My mom was able to wake up enough and respond well enough to commands that she was extubated that morning at 8:30 am. Maddy remained our champion for the rest of that day and the next day. She provided compassionate yet purpose-driven care to my mom.
While we received great care from many of the nurses in the CVICU (and multiple other units at Medical City), the care Maddy delivered stood out for one main reason: she cared for the whole family. Our whole family suffered a loss that night my mom had her stroke. We were all exhausted and grieving at the time Maddy came on for her shift. Maddy not only provided the same nursing care to my mother that I know she would give to her own mother, but she took time to comfort me and provide me with the education and hope I needed those two days. She spent time with my distraught dad who was watching his wife suffer tremendously and swimming in questions of what their future would look like together. She comforted my aunt, my mom's sister, who had flown in from Chicago that day to help our family. She gave completely of herself to our family those two days while still caring for another patient and their family with I'm sure the same compassion and intellect. Maddy even came in and checked in on us on another day she was working, but not assigned to my mom.
There are many great nurses in this world, but I believe Maddy is an exceptional one! She proved she was smart, organized, emotionally in tune with her patients and families, and so very compassionate.