September 2024
Amanda
Luna
,
RN
CVICU
Advocate Good Shepherd
Barrington
,
IL
United States
When anxious and unable to sleep, Amanda pulled up videos at 2 a.m. about our mother's upcoming ablation, showing her how effective, safe, and relatively simple the procedure would be, putting our mom's mind at ease.
During our mom's hospital stay, where she was being treated for frequent cardiac episodes and subsequent cardioversion shocks from her AICD, her nurse, Amanda, was able to help her relax and manage her anxiety! Amanda was attentive and relentless in helping our mother remain as calm and comfortable as possible. She would talk with our mom as if she wasn't a patient in a hospital setting but rather like friends catching up who hadn't seen each other in a while. Amanda would sit with her, hold her hand, and talk with her about any concern she was having. When anxious and unable to sleep, Amanda pulled up videos at 2 a.m. about our mother's upcoming ablation, showing her how effective, safe, and relatively simple the procedure would be, putting our mom's mind at ease. She would always enter our mom's room with a friendly smile, no matter what my mom needed or how many times the call light had been pressed, reassuring her even when she wasn't with her, she was watching her monitor "like a hawk." When our mom was having an active episode of V-tach, Amanda was there in seconds, again to hold her hand, coaching her to relax, and reassuring her everything was going to be okay; all the while, hanging meds, controlling pumps, and calling doctors and additional help! And after one of her episodes of V-tach, and our mom was stable, Amanda was right back by her side, this time adjusting and styling her hair, saying, "She just has such pretty hair, I don't want it to get ruined," haha. It was hard seeing our mom suffer these episodes and the subsequent treatment that was required to help her, but Amanda always made sure we were updated and knew what the care plan was and if anything was changing. Amanda not only cared for our mother, but also helped our anxiety as well, by helping our mom, being there for her, and answering our questions and concerns we had as well! Just knowing Amanda was on shift and going to be our mom's nurse for the night was comforting; we knew she was in good hands! Beyond that, you truly are an awesome nurse!!