Natasha was my nurse a couple of times during my 18-day stay. Natasha demonstrated her skillful and compassionate care for me by introducing me to the necessary steps I needed to follow every day for my recovery. She was my nurse for the first time on the 3rd or 4th day after being intubated with an NG tube to pump the stomach bile out of my stomach rather than vomiting. I was also on IV Nutrition at this time. I was feeling weak and a little depressed because I could not eat or drink plus I had not bathed and I looked like "Snuffulufagus" from Sesame Street.

Natasha came in all bubbly and had me brush my teeth showing me that it could be done in the bed and navigating the tube. She then wrote goals for me up on the whiteboard that no one else had mentioned before. She was teaching me how to take responsibility for my own progress and equipping me with actions for recovery.

First #1 - TCDB - Q1* while awake - which means turn cough and take 10 deep breaths every hour while awake.

Second #2 - ambulate TID - which means getting out of bed and walking three times a day.

Finally #3 - mouth care - which means brushing my teeth twice a day.

This simple visual in front of me day by day gave me something to work toward and kept me from stagnating in bed. Whenever Natasha saw me completing one of the tasks she would make a point to congratulate me and encourage me to keep it up. It was evident to me that she loved her job and had been a skillful compassionate nurse with great experience for many years. When she was my nurse I felt completely at ease and had no doubt I was receiving the best quality care possible. I looked forward to the days Natasha was assigned to be my nurse. Natasha is a great example to younger nurses and an unmatched asset to patients. I am forever grateful and thankful for the loving kind care she gave me during an extremely traumatic time in my life.