Last Wednesday, I had the unfortunate experience of my first pregnancy ending in a miscarriage. I was at work when it happened and my OB/GYN recommended that I go to the emergency department. My husband had to drive in from the suburbs and for the first hour I was there, and frankly, throughout the entire evening, the biggest comfort in the entire experience was my ED nurse, Addie Pampalone. What stands out most in my mind is that she treated me as a person first and as a patient, second.
Obviously, I had a lot of questions and she took the time to answer them and, in fact, pre-empted a lot of them by continually communicating with me what was going to take place and what I could expect. This practice of hers allowed me to stay calm, despite the fact that I was bleeding considerably and was both upset and embarrassed by what was happening.
She was extremely practical and put both my husband and me at ease through the hours-long stay and three pelvic exams, which I'm sure any woman can understand how uncomfortable I was by the end of the evening.
Even though it was her job, her care and concern helped me retain some dignity as I bled through several layers and even on the floor. She was right there to help me and clean me up and I couldn't be more thankful.
It's hard to put in words how much Addie made the experience of a miscarriage just a little bit better, but my husband and I will always be grateful to her. Even as I was leaving, she made sure I had supplies and knew what I needed to do to follow-up.