July 2019
Susan
Roberts
,
RN
Outpatient Mental Health
Minneapolis VA Health Care System
Minneapolis
,
MN
United States
Susan tells me I am smart and can tell me point by point how far I have come.
I have schizophrenia and hallucinations and especially struggle with shadows. Susan has helped me brainstorm many times on ways to combat this. She has even hung a picture in her office where the shadows gather to break them up for me. I have switched to a new antipsychotic shot that she always fully reviews the instructions before mixing it and can tell me the different ways medications work and affect my body. When she doesn't have an answer, she finds it. I also have a Benadryl addiction and she researched it with the pharmacist to help my provider understand what it's doing to my body. She never hesitates to tell me she's proud when I'm struggling but making an effort, worried when I am not taking care of myself, and scared when I am doing something dangerous. She tells me I am smart and can tell me point by point how far I have come. I worry about people telling my family my thoughts and things that I say to providers and she always reviews HIPAA with me. I am embarrassed when I need to stay inpatient and she is never weird about it. She has offered to go with me because I'm afraid of women's wellness exams. She also helped me find programming and if I am struggling or scared, I can call her and she will encourage me to go. She will sit with me in appointments if I am worried about a male provider and only says something if I agree to something she knows I don't want. She is the reason I haven't given up!