I entered my husband’s SICU Room after his carotid endarterectomy surgery. I was greeted by a lovely young lady named Alyssa C. She told me that she was his nurse and that my husband was doing well after his surgery. Alyssa C. was professional, pleasant, and happy to care for my husband. She told me that he had been through so much trauma in his life. She said that his lobectomy and abdominal aortic bi-femoral bypass grafts were difficult surgeries to recover from. That let me know that she had checked his medical history and found out about his prior surgeries at the Little Rock Veterans Medical Center. Right then, I knew she used due diligence in knowing about her patients. My husband insisted that he needed to urinate even though Alyssa C. told me that his bladder was empty due to a Foley catheter, and it was irritation from the insertion of the catheter that he was feeling. After about 30 minutes of him continuing to feel the need to urinate, Alyssa C. told me that she would get him medication for the spasms approved to help ease his discomfort. Allysa C. brought him spasm medication and was in regularly to ask if my husband needed anything or if she could get me coffee or water.

It was around 6:00 P.M. that his vital monitor alarm started alerting emergency and flashing BRADY, and showed his heart rate at 45. It was less than 3 seconds that Alyssa C. came running into my husband’s room. My husband was struggling to remain conscious. Within a minute or so, my husband’s heart rhythm returned to normal, and Alyssa C. was trying to find out why this emergency had occurred. I have never seen a nurse act so fast and with such concern, and I have been with my husband through four critical surgeries. Alyssa C. assessed my husband’s condition and could not match the alarm with his actual heart rhythm.
Alyssa C. started asking my husband what had happened prior to the alarm, and he could not remember. Alyssa C. then asked me what I remembered, and I told her that he had been gagging from nausea, he scooted up in bed, and leaned forward to keep from vomiting. After he leaned back, his cardiac rate returned to normal. But the alarms were still going off as an emergency. Alyssa C. left the room and came back with a male nurse, whom I believe was the nursing supervisor, and together they determined that my husband had a vagus nerve stimulation from his abrupt leaning forward. Alyssa C. wanted to make sure that there was no other explanation, so she ordered blood work and an X-ray of his chest. Alyssa C. was in my husband’s room often asking if he needed anything and encouraged him to eat even when he refused due to nausea.

Alyssa C. said she was contacting the doctor to get nausea medication approved. Alyssa C. brought him the medication for nausea. J requested pain medication, and she promptly brought him the medication. I left the hospital after Alyssa C. went home for the night and Brandy M. came in as his nurse. My husband asked Alyssa C. if she was working tomorrow, and she said yes. My husband and I were both incredibly happy that she would be his nurse again the next morning. I was back in my husband’s SICU room shortly after 5:00 A.M. the next morning. When Alyssa C. came in at 7:30 A.M., she said, I heard you got here early this morning. I told her that I could not sleep anyway, so I came to check on J. Alyssa C. asked me if I wanted a cup of coffee. I told her no, but thank you, but I would be happy to get her a cup of coffee from Patriot Brew, but she declined. During the morning, Alyssa C. came in often to check on J and asked us about our lives and our farm. We chatted, and she told us about her mother being a nurse at the Veterans Memorial Hospital and that she and her sister volunteered as teenagers to help the veterans.

I would like to take a moment to thank Alyssa C., her mother, and her sister for their legacy of service in helping our veterans. Dr. G came in and said that my husband would be released at about noon, so we could make the long trip home before dark. After the doctor’s orders were placed on the computer, Alyssa C. called the pharmacy so J and I would not have to wait downstairs for his medication that his doctor ordered. My husband was released from the SICU at about 1:00 P.M. Alyssa C. told us that she was going to take J directly to our car and had me go ahead to start the air conditioning and pull into the front patient loading area. Alyssa C. pushed J, in his wheelchair, to the pharmacy, out to our car, and helped him into the car. She loaded his wheelchair into the back of our car by herself. Alyssa C. walked to J’s side and put her hand out to shake his. J asked her for a hug, and she hugged him. Alyssa C. walked around to the driver’s side, and I got out of the car, hugged her, and told her that I wished she were his primary care doctor. In conclusion, Alyssa C. went beyond her job as a nurse by showing kindness, compassion, and a real emergency response to a life-threatening situation. I have been with my husband through surgeries, and I have had surgeries. Alyssa C. is the best nurse I have ever seen perform her job.