As I am writing this to you, I have tears of gratitude in my eyes. I knew that my nurse, Jennifer Townley, was an amazing employee - she is kind, smart, hardworking, and professional (all the qualities you want in a traveler) - but I have come to learn over the last few days that what I know of Jen merely scratches the surfaces to what an amazing human, and nurse, she truly is.
I had an itch to nominate Jen for a DAISY Award multiple times over our three years of working together. She would tell me a story about a patient, and I would think to myself that she was so genuine and selfless in?her care, she deserved some recognition. Unfortunately for me, truly selfless people are often just as humble. So while I could tell that Jen went above and beyond, she didn't boast about her efforts enough for me to make an official nomination. She mostly maintained the attitude that she was simply "doing her job".
About a month ago she was telling me about her unit, the heart, and lung stepdown in Virginia. At the onset of COVID-19, she recognized that the PPE policies were not the best practices for the staff and patients in her unit. She advocated for a PPE policy change that would better protect them. Instead of complaining, Jen took the time to respectfully voice her concern and offered up suggested solutions to upper management. I made a comment about how frustrating I thought the situation was, Jen maturely responded, "These are unprecedented times, and I get it, everyone is scared, everyone is confused, everyone is just doing their best." Rather than blaming management or administration, she was compassionate and tried to view the situation from their side, acknowledging that policies aren't easy to get right, and that good medical care takes a village. Jen was right, too - her leadership considered her suggestions and implemented a policy change.
A few weeks later, Jen was caring for a lung transplant patient who had become positive for COVID-19. His condition began to deteriorate, and she was asked to move with him from the step-down unit to the ICU in order to continue his care. She was offered cross-training and asked to begin working in the Cardiac (and COVID-19 positive) ICU immediately. Without hesitation, Jen agreed! When I asked her how she felt about it, she said she would do whatever the hospital needed her to do and she was just happy she could stay with her patient.
To someone not clinically trained, a unit change sounds simple enough. However, I know there are an extensive amount of skills Jen was being asked to learn in a relatively short time period, and during a global pandemic which adds a second level of stress to the mix. In typical Jen fashion, she happily accepted the challenge and took on her new responsibility with passion and positivity.
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Jen always took as much time as we needed to educate us or support us emotionally. We knew she had other patients and other duties, but Jen never made us feel like she was in a rush to leave our room. There really isn't anything else I can say except that Jen is one of the most amazing people I have ever met in my life and we consider ourselves so blessed to have met her and been under her care.
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I have been in and out of the hospital for a long time. I have made bonds with nurses but have never bonded with any of them the way I have with Jen. There is just so many medical staff in and out of your room, it's hard to make genuine connections. But Jen is just different. She is really patient with me. I obviously don't want to be in a hospital so I admit I can get angry and emotional at times. It doesn't happen often, but on really bad days I will lash out. I have even lashed out at Jen, but she always forgives me and stays by my side. She has never been angry with me or given up on me. Sometimes she will put me in my place if I am being too negative, but I know it's because she cares so much about me and wants me to remain as positive as possible.