Alley Norris
December 2024
Alley
Norris
,
LPN
Pulmonology
Inova Health System
Woodburn
,
VA
United States
It has been a very long time since I’ve come across a nurse with such an empathetic, helpful, and natural way of caring for a person in distress.
I made a phone call to my pulmonologist when, right after my daily inhaler dose, I began to try to gasp for breath and was unable to breathe for 30-45 seconds, a terrifying first-time occurrence for me. My call was transferred to Nurse Alley Norris, who went out of her way to allay my fears and succeeded in her own calm, efficient, and caring way. I grew up with a mother who was the epitome of the Nurse/Caregiver devoted to soothing pain, allaying fears, and aiding the healing process. Nurse Alley is a nurse who was born to do those important tasks.
Her voice was kind when she picked up the phone and asked how she could help. I told her what happened and that I had been terrified. She said let her talk to the doctor and she’d call me right back. She called back in less than five minutes, saying the doctor said to wait about five days and try the inhaler again. I said I’d be too afraid to ever do that. She said she understood that because she has asthma. She was calm and soothing. I asked if I could have a rescue inhaler (thinking that might have helped to get my breath back). She said sure, but if you’re unable to breathe, you wouldn’t be able to inhale it. (I like it so much when people tell you the outcome in case you’re counting on something working in an emergency!) I asked her what to do if this happened again, and she told me to try the “sipping breath as if through a straw” method of getting my breath back. That was very comforting to me. By now, her caring and knowledgeable ways were making me feel better. I asked if I could make an appointment to come to the office and inhale my next dose in five days and she said she didn’t think she could do that, but she would give me her phone number—and she did—and if I wanted her to be on the phone with me while I took that first dose again, she’d be glad to do that—and I could call her any time if I had questions or fears about using the inhaler.
It has been a very long time (and I’ve had contact with many medical personnel since I’m a 77-year-old geezer with lots of medical problems) since I’ve come across a nurse with such an empathetic, helpful, and natural way of caring for a person in distress. Alley Norris is a true DAISY Nurse.
Her voice was kind when she picked up the phone and asked how she could help. I told her what happened and that I had been terrified. She said let her talk to the doctor and she’d call me right back. She called back in less than five minutes, saying the doctor said to wait about five days and try the inhaler again. I said I’d be too afraid to ever do that. She said she understood that because she has asthma. She was calm and soothing. I asked if I could have a rescue inhaler (thinking that might have helped to get my breath back). She said sure, but if you’re unable to breathe, you wouldn’t be able to inhale it. (I like it so much when people tell you the outcome in case you’re counting on something working in an emergency!) I asked her what to do if this happened again, and she told me to try the “sipping breath as if through a straw” method of getting my breath back. That was very comforting to me. By now, her caring and knowledgeable ways were making me feel better. I asked if I could make an appointment to come to the office and inhale my next dose in five days and she said she didn’t think she could do that, but she would give me her phone number—and she did—and if I wanted her to be on the phone with me while I took that first dose again, she’d be glad to do that—and I could call her any time if I had questions or fears about using the inhaler.
It has been a very long time (and I’ve had contact with many medical personnel since I’m a 77-year-old geezer with lots of medical problems) since I’ve come across a nurse with such an empathetic, helpful, and natural way of caring for a person in distress. Alley Norris is a true DAISY Nurse.