I would like to recognize Anu for a couture de force of outstanding caring and compassionate care. She has helped me in several ways in the past 2 day shifts. First, when I met her yesterday, she came in with a big smile on her face (it showed through her mask). She listened to my concerns with thoughtful attention. She reassured me that she would take care of me despite what had happened at my home and in the ER (the brutality of a very sick permanently-disabled Veteran). Her reassurance helped calm me greatly and for the first time in a week, I slept 6 hours straight at night.
Second, I have numerous medical conditions, but the one that is downright debilitating is the inability to stop going to the bathroom and become volume depleted through numerous voids and stools. With the help of the tech, she was on top of the situation and listened to me when I explained that my medication regimen was lacking to stop the bathroom onslaught. She said that what I was going through was enough and that she was going to call the doctor to get the situation fixed. After that call, my regimen was changed, and ever since my stamina and energy levels increased and I got that excellent sleep mentioned before.
Third, yesterday I was told by the doctor from Psychiatry that my 1:1 care would be lifted today and I could expect to be discharged on Monday which everyone was in agreement with. Today a Psychiatrist I had never met came in with what I felt was an 'agenda' about how I might be suffering from bipolar disease. I was placed in this situation because of what medical professionals deemed a "suicide note." I never wrote any such thing, did not overdose on a single medicine, and was just utterly burnt out from a very physically and emotionally taxing week which was blown way out of context. I placed a call to Nurse Anu and asked her if I could just vent for 5 minutes to get off my chest the inappropriate news that the doctor was going to ignore the other doctor's plan and keep me on 1:1 care for at least another 24 hours until my 'emergency detention' was up. What I tried to explain was that if he did that I would still have to wait an additional 24 hours after the 1:1 was canceled. I was breaking down crying after receiving this extremely depressing news.
Nurse Anu then stepped into my misery and helped to bring me back from it. She listened carefully, told me she was "so sorry" and then took the lead by checking to see if there was a medicine that could help. As she was constantly reassuring me that I would "get through this situation" she found an order for extra clonazepam for breakthrough anxiety/stress. She delivered it immediately along with the oxycodone that was helping my physical pain a lot. I will not hedge words here: she helped a broken Veteran in so much psychological and physical pain and turned the tables on it!
Lastly, while suffering from all the aforementioned issues, she arranged for my spiritual betterment amid these dark times. Sharing a common faith with myself, she took no time at all to arrange for spiritual healing and receiving sacramental gifts. She is a holistic healer, a wonderful nurse, competent in every regard, and went way beyond my expectations. Knowing how much she had helped me yesterday, I requested her again for today not just for continuity of care, but knowing I would receive outstanding and compassionate care above and beyond other caregivers I have a patient to. Anu is a true DAISY Nurse.