Nomination submitted by Julie’s patient:
Within the last month, I was a patient at Froedtert Memorial Hospital three times, two of which I was required to stay overnight after endovascular embolizations by Dr. Zaidat and his team to repair a brain fistula/aneurysm.
On both my first and second stays I was assigned Julie Thimmesch, one of Froedtert’s most outstanding nurses! She is the consummate nurse. She is kind, caring, compassionate, skilled, innovative, warm, friendly, understanding, eloquent and clear in her commitment to excellence in caring for her patients.
During my first stay, I had a groin catheter that required me to lie flat on my back for twenty-seven hours before the doctors decided that they would wait to go back in for an angiogram. My back pain was extraordinary and the reason I needed to take so many intravenous drugs. Julie was there for me, talking to me about my pain level, advising me on how much she would give me and making sure I was as comfortable as possible. She brought hot compresses to place under my back, and she suggested the “log rolling” technique that allowed me to keep my leg straight but also to move off my back slightly. For a long time we were going on the assumption that I was going back into surgery, so I was not allowed to ear or drink much, but Julie was right there for me with everything I was allowed and encouraging words. It was a rough stay that first time, and she was there anticipating my every need. Her clinical skills and her compassionate care were obvious to my family as well.
During my second stay, the groin catheter was taken out in the OR so I was much more comfortable and, on this second stay, I was thrilled to have Julie as my nurse again! Although this time I was not in need of as much technical care as the first time, she readily recognized that I was in need of something else; I desperately wanted to be released as soon as possible. I was feeling fairly good. It was my husband’s birthday, and I wanted to go home to be with my family. I had two serious procedures in a relatively short time, and I was anxious to get home. Julie’s compassionate care kicked back in again, and she did everything as swiftly as possible without skipping a step or missing a beat on all the instructions and details for my release. I was so very grateful!
I had quite a number of nurses assigned to me as the nurses changed with the shifts on those two hospitalizations, but Julie truly stands out as a nurse who deserves a warm and sincere recognition for her clinical skills and compassionate care! She is one of those nurses for whom you immediately feel an affinity.
Nothing means more to a professional than her superior recognizing a job well done. I taught high school English for 35 years, and I still have every note, card and letter of appreciation that came to me from students, parents, principals and school boards. They are among my most precious possessions. Thus, because of Julie’s clinical skills, compassionate care, warm personality, exemplary service to her patients and their families, and her commitment to excellent nursing, it is without reservation that I nominate her for the DAISY Award!