Debra
Andrews
July 2012
Debra
Andrews
,
RN
CTSU
CHI Memorial Hospital
Chattanooga
,
TN
United States
My stepdad (82 years old) entered the Emergency Room on Friday April 27, 2012. They operated on him, by putting a tube in his lungs and draining 2 Liters of fluid out. They also ran a camera in his lungs and took a biopsy. One lung was completely collapsed and sealed. They said he was diagnosed with the worst type of cancer in both lungs, caused by exposure to asbestos. They said there was nothing more they could do for him.
The next day, on Saturday April 28, 2012, they released him and turned him over to the Hospice. That Saturday when we got home he threw up really bad, and he blew out all the tubes in his lungs. Naturally he started bleeding all over the place. My mother and I loaded him into my jeep and rushed him to the Emergency Room at Memorial Hospital again. They re-operated and put the tubes back in. He had to stay in the hospital until the following Wednesday May 2, 2012. My mother and I stayed with him in the hospital around the clock. I myself was in law enforcement for 19 years and have dealt with many nurses. All of them that helped him at Memorial were good, but there was one nurse that really stood out. Her name was Debra Andrews RN (CTSU).
She was the most thorough, professional and compassionate nurse that I have ever seen. When she came in to check on him, she didn’t just check a couple of things and walk out. She asked him questions and put her hands on him and checked him over entirely from head to feet. She took him to the bathroom, changed his bandages and drained him, whatever he needed. The last day she was on duty before leaving for vacation, she came in and checked on him. She kneeled down beside his bed, held his hands and was talking to him softly. I couldn’t hear what she was saying. She was like an angel from Heaven. She got up, bent over and hugged him cheek to cheek. It seemed like for five minutes. When she got up to leave, both of them had tears running down their faces.
My mother and I were astonished. I have never seen my stepdad moved so much-much less cry. He wanted to know what her name was. I started asking around and found out. Everyone I talked to about her in the hospital gave nothing but praise to her. They said “yes, she is very thorough, educated, and knows her job very well.
If I was her CEO, I would promote her to training other nurses of how to be courteous, professional, thorough and compassionate. I would give her recognition by award and certificate of appreciation and dedication beyond the call of duty. We need nurses like her. Please tell her thanks for caring for us.
The next day, on Saturday April 28, 2012, they released him and turned him over to the Hospice. That Saturday when we got home he threw up really bad, and he blew out all the tubes in his lungs. Naturally he started bleeding all over the place. My mother and I loaded him into my jeep and rushed him to the Emergency Room at Memorial Hospital again. They re-operated and put the tubes back in. He had to stay in the hospital until the following Wednesday May 2, 2012. My mother and I stayed with him in the hospital around the clock. I myself was in law enforcement for 19 years and have dealt with many nurses. All of them that helped him at Memorial were good, but there was one nurse that really stood out. Her name was Debra Andrews RN (CTSU).
She was the most thorough, professional and compassionate nurse that I have ever seen. When she came in to check on him, she didn’t just check a couple of things and walk out. She asked him questions and put her hands on him and checked him over entirely from head to feet. She took him to the bathroom, changed his bandages and drained him, whatever he needed. The last day she was on duty before leaving for vacation, she came in and checked on him. She kneeled down beside his bed, held his hands and was talking to him softly. I couldn’t hear what she was saying. She was like an angel from Heaven. She got up, bent over and hugged him cheek to cheek. It seemed like for five minutes. When she got up to leave, both of them had tears running down their faces.
My mother and I were astonished. I have never seen my stepdad moved so much-much less cry. He wanted to know what her name was. I started asking around and found out. Everyone I talked to about her in the hospital gave nothing but praise to her. They said “yes, she is very thorough, educated, and knows her job very well.
If I was her CEO, I would promote her to training other nurses of how to be courteous, professional, thorough and compassionate. I would give her recognition by award and certificate of appreciation and dedication beyond the call of duty. We need nurses like her. Please tell her thanks for caring for us.