My admission and eight day stay at Marshfield Medical Center -Eau Claire was due to specifically, an autoimmune disease, Lupus, which was untreated for three weeks prior to my admission, even though I sought care at multiple Emergency Departments at other local hospitals. Once I was finally taken seriously at MMC-EC it was determined that my autoimmune disease had begun negatively affecting my kidney, at a major level. Acute Kidney Infection, they said, until the biopsy came back with a final diagnosis of Stage 4. I spent a number of hours in the Emergency Department awaiting a bed at MMC-EC, and was finally moved to a room shortly before the night shift began.

Upon arriving in my room, I was met with CNAs and doctors telling me more things than I could remember. I felt lost, and confused and had so many questions but I didn't even know what to ask. I don't even remember my initial day shift nurse, but shift change happened shortly after I got situated in my room. I was incredibly embarrassed of myself at that time, due to the struggles I had prior to getting to the hospital. Walking was difficult, I was weak, every joint ached in incredible pain. I hadn't shaved my legs in weeks, showers were too much for me to handle, I had edema in every part of my body, from my feet to my legs to my hips, my back, even my arms, and neck. I felt nasty and even more embarrassed knowing people had to actually touch me when I felt the way I did. I was immediately uncomfortable in the hospital simply just being in my own skin. Then, I met Jasmine.

I can't tell you how many times I apologized that she had to check the edema in my lower extremities when my legs were hairy, and I hadn't showered, yet Jasmine never batted an eye. She would talk to me while doing her checks to help ease my embarrassment. But Jasmine's exceptional care did not stop there. I was lucky enough to have Jasmine as my night nurse nearly every night I was admitted. I honestly counted down the hours until her shift would begin because I knew she cared, I felt it.

I had to have lab draws done every day while admitted and my veins had been taking a beating from my health condition, a CT technician even blew a vein at one point. There was scar tissue in the only good viable vein (as my IV was in the other arm and due to dehydration the rest were hard to get to), but Jasmine would draw my labs quickly and painlessly. She did them so quickly that I didn't even notice she had even inserted the needle most of the time.

Along with numerous lab draws, I also had multiple CT scans, multiple X-rays, and multiple MRIs, all for various reasons. Jasmine would walk me through what I was looking forward to once her shift ended and make sure I fully understood what to expect. There were times that I had to be NPO (no food or drink after 2am) so Jasmine would bring me a sandwich from the station and remind me that I wouldn't be able to have anything soon after. She would remind me of the number of medications I was on and some being narcotics and steroids, that I needed something in my stomach with the medications. She knew I had no appetite, but her bringing me that "snack" and reminding me of the importance of having something in my stomach, gave me the willpower to eat.

Amongst things ordered during my admission, I had to provide a 24-hour urine sample due to bleeding. I was embarrassed enough, but to have to call in a CNA or nurse to check and bottle my urine just added to the embarrassment. Each time I called Jasmine in to do so, she would chat with me about my pain level and ask questions about my kids while she did what she had to do, again, to ease my embarrassment. She repeatedly told me she was completely unbothered by what she had to do, and although that didn't make me feel less embarrassed, it certainly showed how much she could see I was bothered by it and how much she cared for me as her patient.

Jasmine stayed consistent with my medications and ensured I fully understood all the medications I was taking each time she administered them. Jasmine was on top of my pain levels and ensured I was as comfortable as possible. I struggled with pain nearly the whole time I was admitted. I even had a day nurse not administer a specific pain medication because she was new and didn't know I had it. When Jasmine went to leave one morning, she showed the nurse the medication so I would be able to have it. After a number of days on that medication, it began to not touch the pain and did everything she could to find me something that would work. I was on a number of narcotics, and I wanted a pain medication that wasn't a narcotic, something that I wouldn't have "withdrawals" from once I was home and Jasmine reached out to the providers on my case, shared my concerns and shared my pain levels and they were able to come up with an alternative that worked much better for me.

Prior to getting the new pain medication, I was in excruciating pain to the point of tears. Jasmine grabbed some lotion and used some physical therapy massage techniques to help massage the fluid (edema) in my feet, ankles, and calves to help reduce the inflammation and pain I was feeling. I even told her that she could send in a CNA to do that so she could attend to her other patients, and Jasmine said ''you are my patient too, I'm here for you, I will do this." Knowing that I wasn't just a patient to Jasmine, that I was a real person, with real feelings, to have her attention when I felt so horrible and so embarrassed in so many different ways meant so much to me. Jasmine certainly went above and beyond in that moment, along with many others. Jasmine never complained, no matter how many times I called her in. She frequently brought me fresh ice water, snacks and ice packs for my pain. After a while, the ice packs didn't seem to do the trick, and Jasmine brought in a fancy ''water heating pad" to help. Between the water heating pad and the new pain medication, I was finally able to get some sleep, and the relief of finally getting sleep could have made me cry. I was so exhausted and drained from everything that even just a few hours of sleep made me, mentally, feel much better.

I focused most of my letter on my personal experience with Jasmine, however, it is important to mention that Jasmine showed compassion and empathy to all my visitors during my admission. She was very sweet to my children, who have special needs and sometimes struggle with communication. She brought them treats to make them feel more comfortable and even talked with them about things she was doing to me when checking my vitals so my children didn't feel so scared. I cannot begin to say all the ways she made my children feel comfortable as well as my visitors. She was attentive to my visitors and ensured they had everything they needed to feel comfortable while visiting me. She even complimented all the flowers and gifts I received. Jasmine doesn't treat her patients like patients; she treats them like family. She truly cares for each patient she has, far above the typical duties of a nurse. Jasmine is a true DAISY Nurse.