My husband came in hypoxic after being coded on my kitchen floor for 45 minutes. He spent 3.5 days on ventilation. His prognosis was very poor. Linda is what the acronym PETALS stands for: 100% to her patients and family. She worked tirelessly to reverse his prognosis. The intensive care unit is a very cohesive environment. They see that all patients are shared. It is teamwork at its finest. Linda went above and beyond for my husband and his children. She guided us through a very dark time for our family with great compassion. We would have never been as strong as we have become. My husband is awake and alert and seems stable. Getting stronger every day. Every new grad should always strive to be like Linda because we are patients and family members in need. We will always be in debt to her. 

*** 

Linda had a significantly delirious patient and posed all sorts of challenges- restlessness, confusion, restraints, recent cardiac arrest, and vasopressors. Many nurses would feel that the patient was not ready to mobilize and might even ask for sedatives to relax him. Linda recognized that the best thing to do would be to take the difficult path. The family worried that the patient would never be himself again. She found a cardiac chair and sat him up, reassuring the patient and the family that he would get through this. He remained confused that day. She came in the next day and did the same thing, but this time, she wheeled his chair into the sunroom. He looked out the window and said, "I'm in Norfolk! How did I get here?" She sat with him and the family in the sunny room, helping to clear his delirium. What I love most about Linda is her easygoing nature, ability to decide what is best for her patients, and ability to treat them as individuals despite the challenges presented. This embodies the quote from Maya Angelou, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."