May 2023
Danni
Dowell
,
RN
Medical/Surgical Unit
Atrium Health University City
Charlotte
,
NC
United States

 

 

 

The one thing that comes to mind when I think of my stay in the hospital is how Danni kept me comfortable and relieved my fears.
I was a patient who came from Huntersville ED with acute Pancreatitis on your unit 5 Med/Surg at Atrium Health University in March. All of my nurse/techs on each shift were phenomenal! There was one nurse on night shift Danni Dowell who shinned a little brighter. Danni was my nurse Sat/Sun night, on Sat. I was put on clear liquids till 8 pm due to my MRICP that was scheduled for 2 am. I am an OR nurse and as nurses, as you may know, we always try to provide the best care to our patients and sometimes we forget about ourselves. However, on Sunday night I started having pain from the CO2 after my surgery and it started around 11 pm and of course, I thought I could handle it with repositioning. Well around 230a my pain was a 12 out of 10 unbearable to where I was in tears and I had labored breathing so I called for Danni. Danni was in my room within 2 minutes, she was the true definition of putting her patient first. Danni stayed with me for at least 25 minutes, she helped me breathe through my tears and pain, administered my pain medication, and waited till my pain was bearable, she had a random conversation with me about my family, etc.. I was able to stand up and move around the room to also help with my pain and she stayed to help me out of bed and back into bed. She even got me 2 more pillows to keep me comfortable. Danni was wonderful. She made me feel like a person and not just a number in her patient load. With a lot of staff shortages and increase patient caseload we nurses sometimes become compassion fatigue which compromises the quality of delivering the best patient care. While having Danni as my nurse those nights she went above and beyond with a smile on her face and took exceptional care of me after my surgery. The one thing that comes to mind when I think of my stay in the hospital is how Danni kept me comfortable and relieved my fears. Yes, medication definitely helped to keep me comfortable but that is a small portion compared to the compassion and Care that Danni gave me during my stay. Just 25 minutes made a huge difference.