April 2014
Mallori
Fletcher
,
RN, BSN
Intermediate Care Unit/ICU
Lane Regional Medical Center
Zachary
,
LA
United States
My Uncle has been in and out of every hospital in the surrounding area, his last two visits happened to be at Lane RMC, in which he was admitted to IMC the first time and ICU the second time. We were lucky to have Mallori as his nurse on both occasions. Mallori is truly a compassionate nurse with a big heart, not only to her patients but to their families as well. On several occasions when visiting my Uncle, he and my Aunt both raved about the care they had received from Mallori. The first time he was admitted with respiratory problems and got very winded with the slightest movement. Several times he would be struggling to breathe and get very anxious; Mallori could come in and just with her words seemed to calm him down.
The second time he was admitted with respiratory problems and end stage heart failure. He made his wishes known that he was to be a DNR, that he was ready to "go home." At one of the ICU visits he was very restless. Mallori came in the room, gave us an update then turned to my uncle, grabbed his hand, and talked to him like he was her own family. She explained to him that it was important for him to enjoy every minute of everyday with his family and not worry about all the other stuff. He wanted to see his great grandkids that were under the age limit for visitors. Mallori bent the rules for us to sneak the babies in long enough to give "P-Paw" a kiss. His mood changed immediately and we are forever grateful. Her answer could have easily been no, because their were other patients in ICU and I am sure they noticed us carrying in infants.
My uncle went home on hospice on a Tuesday and died later that week at home in peace. Many times nurses are so busy and overworked that they forget it is the little things that matter the most. They sometimes forget that these patients are someone's Mom, Dad, Aunt, Uncle, Grandparent, etc... Nurses are taught all the fundamentals needed to provide their patients with the best care possible, but you can't teach someone compassion. It would have been so easy for Mallori to run in and out of my uncle's room without taking the time to actually talk to him or my Aunt, but she didn't. She always had a smile on her face, a kind word to say and never made them feel that she was too busy for them.
The second time he was admitted with respiratory problems and end stage heart failure. He made his wishes known that he was to be a DNR, that he was ready to "go home." At one of the ICU visits he was very restless. Mallori came in the room, gave us an update then turned to my uncle, grabbed his hand, and talked to him like he was her own family. She explained to him that it was important for him to enjoy every minute of everyday with his family and not worry about all the other stuff. He wanted to see his great grandkids that were under the age limit for visitors. Mallori bent the rules for us to sneak the babies in long enough to give "P-Paw" a kiss. His mood changed immediately and we are forever grateful. Her answer could have easily been no, because their were other patients in ICU and I am sure they noticed us carrying in infants.
My uncle went home on hospice on a Tuesday and died later that week at home in peace. Many times nurses are so busy and overworked that they forget it is the little things that matter the most. They sometimes forget that these patients are someone's Mom, Dad, Aunt, Uncle, Grandparent, etc... Nurses are taught all the fundamentals needed to provide their patients with the best care possible, but you can't teach someone compassion. It would have been so easy for Mallori to run in and out of my uncle's room without taking the time to actually talk to him or my Aunt, but she didn't. She always had a smile on her face, a kind word to say and never made them feel that she was too busy for them.