December 2019
Allyssa
Golz
,
RN
Emergency Department
The University of Vermont Medical Center
Burlington
,
VT
United States
At a moment of pure panic, Allyssa got down on her knees, looked into my eyes, and said "focus just on me".
She knew I could not handle the number of people asking me questions and taking care of me. She was able to get me to focus on just what she was saying. It was the scariest event of my life. I could not breathe and people were asking me a thousand questions. I was having every part of me touched, or attended to. At a moment of pure panic, Allyssa got down on her knees, looked into my eyes, and said "focus just on me". I did and the rest went as smooth as possible. I will never forget the brown soothing nature of her face but mostly her eyes. She never made me sit down because it made it even more difficult to breathe. She even had them take an EKG while standing. I felt she was my advocate while I could not talk. I thanked her and told her what a special nurse she was prior to going upstairs, but feel she deserves this special award.