Kim Gerson
November 2024
Kim
Gerson
,
RN
ED
JCH Healthcare
Jerseyville
,
IL
United States
Sometimes, nurses forget how important comforting someone can be. Kim recognized our need for both.
On Thursday evening, J had chest pain, and B/P was very high. By midnight, after taking two nitro pills to no avail, we headed to the emergency room at Jersey Community Hospital. We arrived about 1:00 AM Friday morning and J was immediately hooked up to BP and heart monitors. At this point, J and I were very worried that every heartbeat would be his last.
Our night nurse, Kim, came in and assured us it would be okay and that we were in good hands. During the night, every little while, Kim would come in and see how we were and chat for a few minutes. I'm sure she knew the tension we were feeling. Her repeated presence kept us calm. She obviously understands that emotional support is almost as important as physical help. By 7:00 AM, Kim was off duty and headed home. Since blood tests were still being run, J was still in the ER. I needed to go home to see about our little dogs. There had been a snow storm going on when we came to the hospital. By 7:00 AM, it had stopped, but the parking lot was very slick, and there were piles of snow where the snow plow had come through.
It was still dark as I was approaching our truck, and I slipped and fell directly on my head and one knee. There I sat in the snow, blood flowing down my face. I'm an 82-year-old woman with two knee and one shoulder replacements, struggling to get up and no one in the parking lot to help. Suddenly, a silver car drove by. The driver saw me calling for help, stopped her car, and hurried to me. It was Kim, on her way home. She calmed me and then ran to the hospital for help. She came back with a wheelchair and a young man to help pick me up. I was then taken to the ER, and Kim went home.
To me, she was my hero, my guardian angel that morning. Throughout the night and into the morning, she seemed to have picked my husband and me up emotionally and physically, over and over. Sometimes, nurses forget how important comforting someone can be. Kim recognized our need for both. We will never be able to repay her for what she did for us, but I feel she should be recognized for her caring and kindness. She truly is a wonderful person.
Our night nurse, Kim, came in and assured us it would be okay and that we were in good hands. During the night, every little while, Kim would come in and see how we were and chat for a few minutes. I'm sure she knew the tension we were feeling. Her repeated presence kept us calm. She obviously understands that emotional support is almost as important as physical help. By 7:00 AM, Kim was off duty and headed home. Since blood tests were still being run, J was still in the ER. I needed to go home to see about our little dogs. There had been a snow storm going on when we came to the hospital. By 7:00 AM, it had stopped, but the parking lot was very slick, and there were piles of snow where the snow plow had come through.
It was still dark as I was approaching our truck, and I slipped and fell directly on my head and one knee. There I sat in the snow, blood flowing down my face. I'm an 82-year-old woman with two knee and one shoulder replacements, struggling to get up and no one in the parking lot to help. Suddenly, a silver car drove by. The driver saw me calling for help, stopped her car, and hurried to me. It was Kim, on her way home. She calmed me and then ran to the hospital for help. She came back with a wheelchair and a young man to help pick me up. I was then taken to the ER, and Kim went home.
To me, she was my hero, my guardian angel that morning. Throughout the night and into the morning, she seemed to have picked my husband and me up emotionally and physically, over and over. Sometimes, nurses forget how important comforting someone can be. Kim recognized our need for both. We will never be able to repay her for what she did for us, but I feel she should be recognized for her caring and kindness. She truly is a wonderful person.