I would like to thank Stephanie Lynn for the care she provided to my sister. I too am a nurse and I wanted to share my story through my own personal perspective.
My sister was recently hospitalized from a complication from her chemotherapy. This complication came on suddenly and took my family by surprise. My sister is not a complainer, so when she said she needed to go to the hospital, we were very concerned. I made the decision that I would stay the night with my sister on PCU until she could have surgery in the morning. I remember walking into the room of my sister that night and seeing her lying in bed. I struggled to find composure as there, in front of me, lies a woman in a patient gown who was bald, and almost unrecognizable to me. Her face was full of agony and fear. I remember thinking to myself, is that really my sister? I have never in my life seen my sister so fragile, it was terrifying, heartbreaking and very real. It evoked a deep emotion in me, the one as nurses we have learned to bury to perform our role. I recomposed myself and attempted to just be the "sister", trying to hide my fear.
My sister was in a lot of pain and was requiring significant doses of pain medication to manage her illness, which was not going as planned. Stephanie cared for my sister with true reverence, integrity, compassion, and excellence. She made sure to honor and respect my sister's privacy with the catheter placement, practice integrity as she advocated for my sister to receive additional pain meds after the Hospitalist questioned the high doses she had already received. Stephanie was trying everything to find relief from her pain. She showed compassion and kindness as she talked softly to my sister, as she struggled through the pain. Stephanie, taking her time to try countless positions to make her more comfortable. Stephanie showed excellence as she performed hourly rounding, best practices, hand washing as well as bedside shift report in the morning. Stephanie never once complained or acted frustrated as we were on the call light almost every 15 minutes. Stephanie provided care that made me feel that my sister was her only patient. She must have called the Hospitalist that night over 6 times trying to find the right combination of therapeutic care for my sister.
As a nurse, I know my sister's care required Stephanie to have a limited amount of time to chart. I remember coming back up to her room long after 8 am to see Stephanie charting outside my sister's room, looking exhausted. Stephanie's care was so exceptional that I was able that night to completely trust and relax and just be the sister. I didn't need to advocate for my sister because Stephanie was handling it all. That is a rare experience for a nurse when it is your loved one in that bed. What I witnessed that night was nursing care from the heart and a passion and honor for the profession. Thank you, Stephanie, for your care and treating my family like your own.