I was admitted to the hospital with acute, severe abdominal pain. Deepa was one of my nurses on 2 West. This was the first overnight hospitalization that I experienced since the death of my child. My husband and I had become inseparable. When I was told that I would be placed in a private room, I began to wonder if my husband would be able to stay the night. He declined and I thought that I would be okay by myself.
However, that is not what happened. As the pain intensified (I received all the pain medication allowed and still my pain was a 20 out of 10), I called Deepa and requested that my husband be allowed to spend the night. She checked with the nursing supervisor to make sure that was okay. It was. Then Deepa stayed with me until my husband could get to the hospital. I explained why I needed my husband and Deepa empathized with me; understanding that I really needed him to be there with me. She showed me such compassion.