I need you to know what I encountered at your hospital. Let me start at the beginning. My younger brother is now 40 years old. Most people think he is young. Not me, I am thankful for every year that I have with him. Z was born with Down Syndrome and doctors have always prepared us that he will have a shorter life span than most. I am a typical overprotective older brother. It has always been me and Z. He is my best friend.
I received a call in the early hours of the morning last week and my mom stated, "Z is in ICU and they put a tube in his throat." I am a Dallas fireman and paramedic. They train us to handle stress and difficult situations but, this, I was NOT prepared for. I woke my wife up and told her to go find out what's going on. Luckily, she is an employee at the hospital.
She got to work and went straight to ICU. She spent the day checking in on him. He was, of course, sedated and had no idea the watchful eye she kept. I wasn't able to make it up there on the first day but, my family was there, and I felt comfortable leaving him in their hands. The next day, my wife said, "You should come to the hospital when you finish your shift so you can see for yourself how Z is doing."
What did that even mean? What was I going to see? ICU is so depressing. Those people are so sick. Tubes, machines, and so many rules. Why did she want me to come up there so bad? I knew, however, that arguing with her was completely pointless; She ALWAYS gets her way. So, I finished a 24-hour shift and headed to Sunnyvale. I have been to the hospital a hundred times. I knew what to expect. I knew R would recognize me and greet me at the door, which she did. She sent me to ICU and when I arrived, I was stunned. I could not even believe what I saw.
I was greeted at his door by Melanie. She introduced herself and began to tell me how Z was doing. Not his diagnosis, not his pending tests, not even his prognosis. She truly told me how my brother was doing. She walked me through his night and his reactions to each thing she did. "He sure doesn't like having his teeth brushed." "He did so well when I moved him and gave him a bath." We talked about his favorite things to do and we talked about his life while she rubbed lotion on his feet. I forgot, if only for a moment, that I was in the ICU with him. I can't even begin to describe the level of care I witnessed. There wasn't a single detail missed. She picked up on every little thing. She even put ointment in his eyes to prevent them from drying out because of the oxygen.
I have spent 20 years transporting people in and out of hospitals and I have never, in all that time, seen such amazing caregivers. To say that Melanie went above and beyond would be an understatement but, I don't think that there are any words to adequately describe what I witnessed. The second day that I visited the hospital, I got the pleasure of meeting another nurse. Between the two of them and the respiratory therapist, every preconceived notion that I had about the Intensive Care Unit had been completely dispelled.
My brother is home and on the mend. He turned 40 while he was in the hospital and honestly, it was one of the most memorable birthdays he has ever had. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking care of my little brother. I will never be able to express what each of you means to me and my family. I hope you take pride in knowing that your staff is truly some of the greatest caregivers I have ever encountered.