From The Other Side Of the Bed :)

[LLC10]

I have been meaning to do this so here goes: A quick note to thank AWESOME nurses because let's face it...how many pts (mom is a nurse hence the fancy med abbreviation :))really understand & are grateful for you?

2 years ago, at 38, I had a sudden heart attack. I am not overweight, diabetic, a smoker or touched drugs in my entire life. I found out I had severe genetic heart disease. I want to thank nurses everywhere for taking care of pts like me medically & emotionally. I know it's a tough job, I've seen it. The ridiculous demands, rude pts... like the one who thought the nurse was her personal slave & waitress. Um, no. I am/was appalled at the behavior of these people & I will say "sorry" for them. I would be fired in about 2.1 milliseconds dealing with some of them. Lol. I had such a great staff that I had my family bring in a catered dinner for all of the nurses during my first heart surgery. You would have thought I was Oprah handing out cars...how sad as pts we don't treat our nurses better? Who are you going to call when the chest pain comes back? Ya...I think I'll go the extra mile:)

Have I had a bad nurse? Sure. My first nurse in the ER mid 1st MI asked me: "Are you sure you're not a drug addict? You know we are going to find out, right?" I replied. "Yes, I'm sure. HA. After my second surgery, I asked my nurse for pain meds, (fyi- I am not a clock watcher & don't like to trouble busy nurses so I waited as long as possible) she sighed & told me she didn't even get to eat her lunch so....Lol. True story. So please, know that not every pt is a junkie or looking for a fix....some of us are 100% truly appreciative like me and are in pain, not making it up.

Anyway, I truly appreciate all the good nurses and know that not everyone gets a chance to express it. Little things like when I had Fem Pop surgery, I couldn't move & had an itchy shoulder. Omg. The itch was worse than the surgery pain. Lol. I felt so bad asking for her help. You would have thought God himself came through the door...she scratched my shoulder & I was in heaven. Little things. You think she went to school to scratch my flippin' back? Hell no....but she did it & I will never forget it. I even see the nice things you do for other pts...it never goes unnoticed.

So from the bottom of this crappy heart...thanks. Truly.

[herring_RN, ASN, BSN]

Thank you.

Your appreciation means so very much.

[amygarside]

You are very much welcome. It is our pleasure to take care of you. I hope you are doing fine by now.

[LLC10]

Thank you both! Have had so many caths I lost count, stents galore, have had both legs bypassed with my PAD, my carotids are screaming at 70 & 80% occluded but other than that...I'm a picture of health. Lol.

Maybe someday they could have a section for awesome patients too. :) Maybe new nurses could learn/experience a few things from grateful, rational pts (selected, not an open format) that could answer questions from the other side of the bed.

For instance: I always get asked the question "What does it feel like to have a MI"? Granted, it's different for a lot of women but I came up with a spot on feeling (also asked other MI people & they agreed) that anyone can relate to...Ya know that feeling when you happen to swallow something hot very quickly? Like you take a gulp of coffee, swallow & then realize it's MUCH hotter than originally thought? Seems like it takes forever to move down your throat & like you swallowed a brick? That feeling? 100% the same feeling at the beginning of an MI!

Now the next time that happens to you, you will think of me :). The hot coffee not a MI of course. Thanks for listening to my rambling.

[vianne]

Thanks LlC10, that means a lot..glad you're well enough to write, and write such nice things, keep well

[bebbercorn]

Why can't you be my patient? Your post made me smile. We hear so many complaints that when someone merely says "thank you" it makes me gush.

[LLC10]

Had another cath, had another awesome nurse & remembered this thread. :)

I know...I hear the complaints and have determined (in my professional patient opinion) the ones that do the most complaining are usually the least sick in the entire building. I think this is hilarious:

I did recently have a nurse ask if I really needed the pain meds on Day 2 of post-op after having femoral bypass on both legs because I asked 5 minutes too early I guess. Drug seeker, I am. Lol. I guess you have to be Chuck Norris to be her patient. Lol.

[SmilingBluEyes]

Believe me, your appreciation and kind words are not lost on me. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your heartfelt words. I hope your health improves and no more untoward things happen to you. I can only imagine how scared you must have been. YOU are not the patient most of us would complain about and those couple nurses you had, well they sucked. Fortunately, I have found over 17 years, this is not the norm.

I wish you well, and for your health to continue to improve as time goes on.

[LLC10]

Aw, thanks, smilingbe. It means a lot...I get lost sometimes in the judgment (med seeker) I seem to get recently that there are more great nurses than bad. That makes me sad & upset as I am not, never have been, only ask when I really need it "seeker". It now gives me great anxiety whenever I am in the hospital that when or if the pain comes back, I will be forced to feel bad in asking and all that anxiety only worsens my situation.

Then again, I see the ED FULL of people who: decide that a UTI is ambulance worthy, that pain they had for 4 weeks is now 100X worse on the weekend, a moderate toothache, has a bit of a cold, you know who I mean...so I guess when you are exposed to that daily, I might be leery, judgmental of everyone too but it's tough to make up 3 MIs though Lol.

It is so wonderful to hear from nurses that truly care and are busting orifice trying to do the job of 4 ...I thank you.