Rachel Caldarazzo
May 2024
Rachel
Caldarazzo
,
BSN, RN
Emergency Department
Banner Estrella Medical Center
Phoenix
,
AZ
United States
I was alone, uncomfortable, and had so much anxiety induced by the wait. Rachel was my ADVOCATE! She heard me, and she jumped in to help me.
I want to take a moment and express in pure gratitude how excellent Rachel is in the ER. I came in on Sunday and was in DKA. This was a brand-new diagnosis for me and the experience of all the symptoms was just absolutely terrifying. I should add that I am also a Nursing House Supervisor at a different Banner facility and understand the standard of care we are expected to provide. What I did not know until this experience, was that in the most critical of moments like this one for me, I would feel a deep pride to belong to the same organization as Rachel.
Rachel is empathetic, kind, extremely efficient, smart, and has only been a nurse for ten months!!!! She quickly put all the interventions into place I needed. Insulin drip, tons of fluids, and worked through protocols with the student she had that day.
The moment that set her apart from the rest came when I had been waiting around 11 hours to be moved into an ICU bed. I felt absolutely awful, and to be surrounded by the chaos of ED for 11 hours, all while trying to process what was physically happening to my body, was too much, and I emotionally broke down. I could not take another moment without having a way to close out all the yelling and alarms and talking from the busy day. I was alone, uncomfortable, and had so much anxiety induced by the wait. Rachel was my ADVOCATE! She heard me, and she jumped in to help me. I was so embarrassed to ask for more when she was so busy, especially as a nurse myself, but she talked to the physician and her charge and tried to find a way to help. She came back to me with a compromise, as there were several of us waiting for an ICU bed. She moved me to the purple zone where I could be alone. In all the craziness she had going on and all my emotions, she still found a way to meet my needs and made me feel important. I am so lucky she cared about me! When I closed the door to my new room, and all the noise went away, I felt a calmness come over me. I could finally focus on getting through this and start trying to heal.
Rachel - I hope you didn’t feel my tears were because you didn’t do a good job! You are amazing, and I am so thankful for you. You made a difference that day!!!!
Rachel is empathetic, kind, extremely efficient, smart, and has only been a nurse for ten months!!!! She quickly put all the interventions into place I needed. Insulin drip, tons of fluids, and worked through protocols with the student she had that day.
The moment that set her apart from the rest came when I had been waiting around 11 hours to be moved into an ICU bed. I felt absolutely awful, and to be surrounded by the chaos of ED for 11 hours, all while trying to process what was physically happening to my body, was too much, and I emotionally broke down. I could not take another moment without having a way to close out all the yelling and alarms and talking from the busy day. I was alone, uncomfortable, and had so much anxiety induced by the wait. Rachel was my ADVOCATE! She heard me, and she jumped in to help me. I was so embarrassed to ask for more when she was so busy, especially as a nurse myself, but she talked to the physician and her charge and tried to find a way to help. She came back to me with a compromise, as there were several of us waiting for an ICU bed. She moved me to the purple zone where I could be alone. In all the craziness she had going on and all my emotions, she still found a way to meet my needs and made me feel important. I am so lucky she cared about me! When I closed the door to my new room, and all the noise went away, I felt a calmness come over me. I could finally focus on getting through this and start trying to heal.
Rachel - I hope you didn’t feel my tears were because you didn’t do a good job! You are amazing, and I am so thankful for you. You made a difference that day!!!!