The Nurses

I cannot believe I have written this many blogs without addressing one that was about the Nurses that took care of my husband. This crazy, serious dramatic journey could have been so different if it weren’t for the nurses, therapists, and patient techs.

It is a big miss for me because I have several relatives (my God daughter, nieces, friends) that are nurses and in the medical field.

First the nurses in Neuro ICU, what they go thru, the worst patients dying. Scotty spent 29 days in Neuro ICU (of course part of those days were from insurance denying him moving). I know for a fact several people passed away while we were there. What struck me the most was the nurses constantly consulting with each other about how to make Scott the most comfortable and deal with his complications to make them less and prevent others. I know they have 2 patients but their devotion to my husband was top notch. Their concern for me because I did not leave for 14 days was sincere. Their ability to instill confidence and their recommendation that I go home, led me out the door to my own bed albeit in tears.

I do not remember everyone’s names but I do remember their faces. There was a male nurse working overnight who was small of stature with quick sure movements, first thing he did was clean Scotty’s room and make sure everything was stocked to the max. His wife was a librarian and he was kind and sure in his knowledge. The day I have to let them put the vent in was so heart wrenching for me. When he came on duty that night he told me “Diane I know this was a big step back for Scotty but your decision is giving him a chance to live.” I felt that was confirmation from God that I did make the right decision. There was the young beautiful nurse who constantly was shifting him checking and tweaking everything , personally talked to facilities to get them to turn the temperature down in the room to help with his fever.

The weekend nurse who knew I was concerned with his cleanliness, who helped me bath him around all the tubes and even massaged his scalp with one of those shampoo caps. She also woke him up on Veterans day, painstakingly lower the drug until his eyes opened. Veterans day how fitting, it was 13 days after the stroke he looked at me! He tracked her with his eyes! It was big news on the floor everyone came to see him, he watched some of the movie Green Berets and he was there alive.

The therapists who were kind and gentle and tried all manner of ways to get him moving and breathing on his own. I think I will have to give them and the patient techs their own blog.

We are forever in the debt of those dedicated nurses who never gave up on Scotty even when the outlook was grim.