I was brought into the ICU after having a total thyroidectomy and woke up with intense pain in my right shoulder, head pain, and inability to swallow anything. The first night was all a blur but the next day Jessica was my nurse. This was all a new experience to me because I was recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer and had never had any surgeries before, let alone spent any time overnight at a hospital.

I was lucky to have Jessica looking after me as she placed my care and comfort first; I felt that she was right there with me the entire time I was in the ICU. She offered suggestions to make me more comfortable such as seeing me in pain and offering ice packs and she went ahead and spoke with the doctors to follow up on oral meds as I was in a lot of pain and unable to swallow pills. I saw that Jessica was passionate and devoted to taking care of others.

Along with so many other things on my plate, I’m glad Jessica was there to help alleviate some of the stress and anxiety. Not only did she make me feel taken care of, but she also made sure my wife was comfortable when she was visiting, and Jessica was very respectful. To me and my family, Jessica really left a great impression on us with the quality of care we received at the VA Medical Center. I made sure to thank Jessica at the end of her shift every time she was my nurse in the ICU but I never got to say goodbye to her when I was discharged and I wanted to write this message to thank her again. The most amazing thing to me was that the first day I met Jessica was her first day at work! Jessica, you rock!