Due to a traumatic hit and run accident, my husband was a patient at Eskenazi for 34 days. After ICU he was transferred to ICU Intermediate where his main nurse was Karen. My husband sustained a traumatic brain injury and was quite a lot to deal with. In ICU he remained pretty calm/quiet but once he transferred to ICU Intermediate he began to wake up more and he is a handful which I had warned everyone to "watch out, he's a strong guy and when he wakes up he's going to be an issue". I was told "oh he's has a TBI and don't be surprised that he will be completely different". Well, guess who was right?.... Me! He was a very active patient requiring 3-4 staff to assist with his care and that included me helping as well.
However, I want to bring light to Nurse Karen. From the first day, Karen bonded with my husband and me as well. She was the first medical professional since his admit date that I could see that she cared for him not just as a patient but as a person and as my husband. She took so much time talking with me, explaining his care, current state, and what our future state might look like. She is very knowledgeable about TBIs. However, it's this next part that sets her aside from the other nurses that took care of us. As usual, Karen had other patients to tend to but I noticed on her downtime she spent more time with him at his side doing her charting and talking to him. She also sang to him. I told her he loved music so she continued with her signing. There were many times this would calm his agitation or create some kind of response which just made my heart grow that another person was taking an interest in my husband as more than just a patient.
Karen was off on the weekends and he was discharged to the next level down on a Saturday so we never got to have our official goodbye. However, I think she anticipated him leaving. During our time with her, we talked a lot and even cried together. We got to know each other on a personal level. On the last day of her shift, she took me aside and looked me deep in my eyes, and told me that I was a "rock star" for being so dedicated and being by my husband's side 24/7 for 34 days. By that point, I was so tired physically and mentally, and not knowing what to do or what our future looked like was taking a toll on me. But it was Karen's words that day that I will never forget. She knew exactly what to say which helped me to feel that we had hope and we were going to be okay.
When he was discharged to a rehab facility he could not walk, talk, stand, communicate, nothing. He is now 8 months post-accident and is doing wonderfully. He still has a long road ahead but he's doing so much better compared to stories of others with TBIs. I would love to take him back to show Karen what her hard work and dedication did for him. He left on a gurney and not talking but today he'd be able to walk in and say thank you. I don't know any other medical professional more deserving of The DAISY Award than Karen "the singing nurse". Thank you Karen for what you did for my family. My husband may not remember you but I will never forget you!
Note: This is Karen's 2nd DAISY Award!