Coree McCabe
August 2015
Coree
McCabe
,
RN
Progressive Care Unit
Rapid City Regional Hospital
Rapid City
,
SD
United States

 

 

 

Our story of Coree begins when our Mother was admitted to the hospital for dehydration and later on we found out it was much worse. Through our Mother's journey of pokes, meds and multiple IV's, one amazing smile and face always brought such calming happiness to her room. Her soft tone, the life in her eyes and the strength in her movement is what helped carry us through one of the hardest times we encountered.

Coree worked like clockwork. We could tell the time just by hearing her at the door. When she came in the room the tone in her voice was soft and meaningful. She always made sure to address our Mom in the most affectionate way, and you could tell it wasn't the fake sincerity you see in some, she was different, her genuine nature shown through in everything she did. After a few times in the room and working with our Mom we began to notice she did small things that others overlooked. She took the time to make sure everything was done right, never rushed or had short cuts and she did things that she didn't have to do rather because it needed to be done. Not once was she burdened by task. She always stayed calm and focused on every need of our Mom.

Coree treated us as resources as well, she listened to our knowledge of our Mom and the things we knew from other doctors and she used that information and her amazing amount of knowledge and provided the best possible care anyone could've provided to our Mom. After the first couple of days we began to watch her in her nursing area. She seemed so pleasant and helpful to everyone on the floor. She was constantly moving from room to room, standing in the door ways and spending every minute making sure the needs of her patients were met. She seemed to move in a way that was effortless. Only once did we see her sit down and it's because we didn't understand what the doctor had said to us.

Coree took it upon herself to spend all her down time, extra time, time between tasks researching and going through paperwork until she could come back and give us the answers we were seeking. She made time just so we could understand fully what was happening. Coree has a diligence and fidelity about what she does. Her compassion and commitment to her patients, her job, her staff and herself were like none other. When she walked into the room we had no doubt in her. She was always prepared, always efficient, always nurturing and not once did she pretend to be more than what the task was. She was very down to earth and her laughter and smile became an amazing symbol of her heart and passion for nursing.

As we stayed longer with Coree as our Mom's nurse we began to see her more like family. She had done everything it took to earn our trust. This is not an easy task for anyone because of all the things we have encountered with hospitals and nursing staff. We were ready to defend and fight for our Mom, but not one time did we have to, not one time did we have to feel worried about her care because we knew Coree was on the floor. Our minds were at ease knowing she was there. At that point she became part of us. Coree always took the time to stand and explain things and ask how we were doing on individual basis. Her words offered comfort in a way that even though our hearts were confused and hurting, the pain went away momentarily because someone knew, someone understood, someone cared and that was her. She was always honest with us and not one time did she give us false hope, only support. Her being present gave us strength.

Coree is the most amazing nurse we have encountered. We are blessed to have someone so passionate, kind hearted, and empathetic as her caring for our Mom. We are forever grateful to such an amazing nurse and the love she showed our mother and to us. She means the world to our family because she gave everything in her world so everything in ours would be alright. We would like to say thank you, thank you for seeing such amazing talent in Coree. It is an honor to know such a Saint.