Subject: Letter of Commendation
Dear D3 Nurses,
I had the pleasure of being cared for by several of you on June 29th
when I came in to have a hysterectomy. I think being a nurse is a
pretty amazing profession and the amount of patience, empathy, care and
knowledge that you have may go unappreciated by some people. Not everyone is the breath of fresh air that I am (please feel free to add a tone of sarcasm to that...even though I actually was on good behavior)
and I imagine there are days you go home and question if what you
really need is wine or sleep, or both. I wanted to take a moment and
extend my thank you for making my experience in the hospital as pleasant
as possible considering I had a tube up my lady bits for much of my
time there.
First, I believe it was Michele who prepped me for surgery. At least, I think that was the name she put
on the white board. She was friendly, kind and efficient. I will say
that while she was with me, the dude that came in to take my blood
before surgery was very UNPLEASANT. I don't remember his name, don't
remember if he gave it to me, but he came in, no smile, no warmth, no
communication with Michele and pretty much, put a band on me and started
to look for veins. I told him the best vein to use, because I am a
tough draw sometimes. He ignored me, and while I was answering
questions for Michele, he put a band around my wrist and out of nowhere
stabbed my wrist with a needle as if he was harpooning Moby Dick.
My entire body came off the bed and I yelled out. Even Michele
couldn't believe what was happening. And just like that, he was gone. He left Michele in a bind because now she had to find a different spot to put the IV in. That
guy sucked. But enough about him, Michele continued to be awesome and
she deserves a pat on the back and some ice cream or something awesome.
The
next person I remember took me into the surgery room where a whole pit
crew of people immediately started to work on me. I don't remember a
lot about that time, but they were all nice and friendly and I felt like
I was in good hands. And, I don't know who got me out of the purple
gauze gown thing and then into the ever-stylish hospital gown, but kudos
to you, team, that couldn't have been easy! They also deserve a pat on the back and a round of drinks because Lord only knows what they went through maneuvering this massive form of a body. I think the medical term is "body habitus" or "morbid obesity" whatever, they earned a drink or three and a massage.
After that, I remember a nice lady named Linda who was at my side as I was coming out of my anesthesia fog. She asked how I was doing and I kept telling her it hurt and then she would give me more drugs. This continued until I was feeling more conscious and less painful. I
liked Linda a lot. She can drug me anytime. I think she told the
person that came to take me to my room that I was "stoned." I think I
remember being hilarious, but I can't be sure. Long live, Linda. She
deserves a day off and a glass of wine.
When I got to my room, it was time for Windy (and it's Windy, NOT Wendy, let's be clear) to care for me. I loved Windy because she is sassy like me. But not like mean sassy,
like fun sassy, but still very caring and very on top of it. She took
amazing care of me keeping me comfortable, up on my meds, bringing me
food, ice, whatever I needed. And, while this is her job, she was just
so on top of her game, I really never had to ask for anything, she was always one step ahead of the game. I heart her. She deserves a gold star and whatever else she wants.
Alas, Windy had to go home for the night, but she left me with Carie, I think. I'm a little fuzzy on this name because...drugs. If I have the name wrong, I'm sorry, because Carie was so sweet and so kind, she also deserves recognition. I feel like we are close because at 3:30am, Carie took my catheter
out. It was a special moment. The poor woman has seen things down in
the nether region that frankly, I don't even see. She was awesome
and I appreciate her care equally. She was there encouraging me to
walk around and cheering me on. She also deserves a gold star and a day
off for having to deal with the 'ol vagina.
In the morning, Windy returned and continued taking great care of me until it was time for me to go home mid-day. She gave me lots of great after-care advice and instructions when I checked out and wheeled me down to the curb for my ride home.
Since I have arrived home, I've had a slew of issues with a bladder infection, becoming allergic to my incisions, not
pooping for five days and riding an emotional roller coaster. There
were several times I thought to myself, "I wish I was back in the
hospital where they took such good care of me!" I mean, who wants to
go back to the hospital? No one in their right mind, that's for sure,
but you all made it seem like a really safe
place with the best care. All kidding aside, I truly want to thank
your team for being so awesome. Even the people that I don't remember
(because drugs) or don't know the name of. You all are beyond awesome.
You all deserve a raise! [Side note: Dr. Dau was probably pretty good, too, but he doesn't get the amazing nurse status recognition like you all.]
I
know you take care of a lot of people and you might not remember me,
but that is okay, who I am isn't important, who you are is what
matters. However, here is a picture of my uterus in case that helps
your memory:
Sadly, I don't have a picture of my vagina while I was in the hospital, so I can't share that. Taking a picture of its current state wouldn't really help you now, so I'm going to hold off on that. For those that had to see it, I’m sorry.
I do have this picture that my husband took of me right before surgery:
That's my excited to get my uterus ripped out face.
I’m adding this letter to my
blog that I do for my own writing therapy so that it can be shared with
other nurses that may be having a rough day. Please know that when you
are not having the greatest day or greatest patients, there are those
that truly appreciate all that you do.
Sincerely,
Cassondra
Uterus Free Since 6/29/18
