Donna Pugh
May 2023
Donna
Pugh
,
RN
Pre-Op
IU Health at AAHC
Indianapolis
,
IN
United States
She advocated for me when I couldn’t do it myself. My short time with Donna has had a significant impact on my life, and I will never forget her kindness and her care.
I had the worst panic attack of my entire life while in Pre-Op preparing to have a bronch/EBUS for a suspicious lymph node in my chest as I have a history of metastatic cancer. I am 33 years old, an experienced nurse, and a team member at IU Health West; I knew that this procedure was extremely minor on the spectrum of surgeries. However, my logical “nurse” side could not overrule or influence the extreme emotional distress I was having as a patient. My surgeon and anesthesiologist were amazing as well, but I ended up canceling my procedure because I just couldn’t do it.
There with me through it all was Donna. She was patient, calming, reassuring, and understanding. She empowered me to do the right thing for me, letting things progress one step at a time without attempting to pressure or rush me. I finally said, “I just can’t do this today”, and she fully supported my decision. When I was extremely embarrassed, crying, and apologizing for being an inconvenience to everyone as I was leaving, she pulled me into a (consensual) hug and told me that it was not an issue at all, to give myself some grace, take some time for myself the rest of the day, and she’d be happy to see me when I decided I was ready to come back and have the procedure. My husband, also a nurse and team member at IU West, looked at me as we left the hospital and said, “She was amazing. This is what it means to be a nurse.”
I would not have been able to get through that experience without Donna. In the difficult times nurses are in, she made me the priority. She exemplifies what it means to care about patients and personified compassion, empathy, and acceptance for me when I had no control over my emotional state. She advocated for me when I couldn’t do it myself. My short time with Donna has had a significant impact on my life, and I will never forget her kindness and her care. As nurses, we are uncomfortable voicing our needs most of the time and in varying areas of our lives; she allowed me to do that and made sure I knew it was okay. I am more comfortable with knowing that I still need to have this procedure done, and will absolutely be coming back to do it, because I know that there’s a chance Donna will be there to help me through it.
There with me through it all was Donna. She was patient, calming, reassuring, and understanding. She empowered me to do the right thing for me, letting things progress one step at a time without attempting to pressure or rush me. I finally said, “I just can’t do this today”, and she fully supported my decision. When I was extremely embarrassed, crying, and apologizing for being an inconvenience to everyone as I was leaving, she pulled me into a (consensual) hug and told me that it was not an issue at all, to give myself some grace, take some time for myself the rest of the day, and she’d be happy to see me when I decided I was ready to come back and have the procedure. My husband, also a nurse and team member at IU West, looked at me as we left the hospital and said, “She was amazing. This is what it means to be a nurse.”
I would not have been able to get through that experience without Donna. In the difficult times nurses are in, she made me the priority. She exemplifies what it means to care about patients and personified compassion, empathy, and acceptance for me when I had no control over my emotional state. She advocated for me when I couldn’t do it myself. My short time with Donna has had a significant impact on my life, and I will never forget her kindness and her care. As nurses, we are uncomfortable voicing our needs most of the time and in varying areas of our lives; she allowed me to do that and made sure I knew it was okay. I am more comfortable with knowing that I still need to have this procedure done, and will absolutely be coming back to do it, because I know that there’s a chance Donna will be there to help me through it.