Thank You From Our Patients

I heard a voice behind me, “Nurse, nurse”. When I turned around, I saw an elderly man leaning heavily on his cane as he tried to get my attention. The ED was extremely busy at that time and the noise level was high but the gravelly voice had a desperate note to it that made me stop. The elderly man just wanted to thank me for staying with his anxious wife while he parked the car. It was just a simple gesture, just a few minutes of my time. To this couple, this meant that the wife’s anxiety did not unravel into a full-blown panic attack. I was just doing my job. But the appreciation from the couple made my day. The elderly man didn't know that just a few minutes ago, I came from assisting in a cardiac arrest of a young man who succumbed to an overdose. His Thank You was a God-sent relief for me.

In our nursing lifetimes, we treasure those moments that validate the reason why we stayed in this profession. The “thank yous” are our emotional rewards. The appreciation from our patients and from our peers lifts our spirits and keeps us going. How wonderful it is to know that we have made a difference.

The following are excellent examples of how nurses changed lives:

Renee, NICU nurse, received a wonderful surprise from the babies she cared for. She is a miracle worker.

Lawrence O’Donnell, a news anchor from MSNBC, delivered an emotional tribute to the doctors and nurses who cared for him after an accident.

Bailey Murill, 17 years old at that time, was paralyzed for 11 days after a freak accident horse-playing with her family at home. She landed awkwardly on her back and was unable to move her legs. Through all the harrowing experiences of finding out the reason for her illness, she developed a close relationship with her nurses at Zale Lipshy University Hospital. She came back from Rehab after regaining the use of her legs to surprise her favorite nurse.

Amanda Scarpinati sustained severe third-degree burns to her body when she was a mere baby. Just three months old, she rolled off a couch into a steam vaporizer. Over the years, she underwent reconstructive surgeries. She took comfort from a picture of her in the arms of a nurse at Albany Medical Center. Thirty-eight years later, she was able to reunite with Susan Burger, the nurse who took care of her.

"I don't know how many nurses would be lucky enough to have something like this happen, to have someone remember you all that time," Berger said. "I feel privileged to be the one to represent all the nurses who cared for her over the years." http://www.today.com/health/burned-baby-woman-finally-meets-nurse-who-cared-her-t47151

When things get rough, when the pressures of being a nurse threaten to overwhelm us, let us remember the special moments of appreciation from the patients and their families who deserve our very best to offer.



Happy Emergency Nurses Week to all the courageous nurses at the frontline of our emergency departments.

Addendum: 9/17/2016

Gary Bentley held on to a photograph of him and a nurse named Kathy for 40 years. In 1975, Gary and his siblings were placed in foster care because of an abusive father. He also underwent open heart surgery at that time. In those difficult times, Nurse Kathy made a long-lasting impression on young Gary. See the emotional reunion.



http://www.littlethings.com/nurse-kathy-reunion/?utm_source=ftap&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dad

My Favorite Things in the ER

I said I will only be staying for two years. Either I am a glutton for punishment, or just have an insatiable lust for adrenaline rush, or I really do love the ER. Twenty years later, the ER had taken a stronghold on me and I would never ever think of going anywhere else.


These are my favorite things:

1. EXCITEMENT GALORE- Nothing boring about ER. Every day offers something new and surprising, or out of this world. Days pass quickly, and however we try to manage our time, there's always something that needs to be done (including a bathroom break).



2. QUIET INTERLUDES, although infrequent, and temporary, are greatly appreciated and much-needed after a hectic day. Empty stretchers in the hallway are a welcome sight. This precious respite from the usual bombardment of patients allows time to sneak to the bathroom, catch up on each others' lives, and the chance to spend more time with our patients. Grab the moment to breathe because it means that a busload of patients are coming soon to break the peace.




3. HAPPY DRUNKS make up for the aggravation of having to fight off the nasty drunks. One day, a happy drunk masqueraded like a Luciano Pavarotti. His booming and impassioned O Sole Mio was surprisingly well-modulated and brought a smile to everyone, including our Alzheimer's patient, who stopped squirming in his stretcher. Somehow the familiar melody broke through the cobwebs of his mind, and he joined our happy drunk in total harmony.



4. LIVES SAVED We lose some, but most of the time we snatch patients from the brink of death. A 17-year old patient should have been a vegetable after a cardiac arrest, but we cooled him down and saved his brain. Five days later, he walked out of the hospital with full neurological functioning, ready to plan dates with his girlfriend again.



5. A SOILED METS CAP. A 9-year old boy felled by a direct blow on his chest from a baseball. He recovered from Commotio Cordis and came back to the ED to thank the staff. Pedro was in full Mets uniform, his blood-stained Mets baseball cap clutched in his tiny hands.



6. THANK YOUS.- A hurried discharge from a harried doctor left a patient and her family bewildered and frustrated. I spent just a few minutes to explain the discharge instructions. And I got a hug and a sincere thank you.



7. BULGING VEINS. Nurses always have a euphoric response to bulging veins, the ones which bulge before you even apply a tourniquet. No 22-gauge angiocathethers, no need for a vein probe, no need to call our vein expert. Just that quick pop, a gentle slide into a vein and Yes, you're home.




8. ELDERLY COUPLE HOLDING HANDS. The hopeless romantic in me triumphs at the sight of one elderly couple who held hands as they patiently waited for the ambulette we ordered to return them home. The husband comforted his wife with the sprained ankle. He catered to her unspoken needs. The wife soothed the husband who was getting impatient with the wait. I enjoyed watching them, even as I felt envious for the experience of spending a lifetime with a soulmate.



9. BABIES. Sometimes, babies are too eager to see the world and could not wait for the delivery room on the 5th floor . When the mother announces. "The baby is coming out!", the ED stops in anticipation and waits with bated breath. When the baby wails, the staff breaks into applause and coos as the baby is placed in incubator. Always a happy sight. We've seen enough deaths, so a new life reaffirms our purpose in being.



10. TEAMWORK. When the going gets rough, the ED staff gets going. Way past their scheduled off if the ED gets a call of a mass casualty. We trudged through several feet of snow, dodged drunks along the way, and stumbled through black-out streets. We held hands as we gasped in disbelief and watched helplessly at the horrifying scenes of 9/11 as played on tv. And then together as a team, we prepared the ER for the victims who never came. We hugged each other, and worked side by side to care for the rest of our patients.