I came to Altru Hospital on Monday June 30th for a routine Same-Day surgery procedure. However after surgery my blood pressure was pretty low, spent some extra time in recovery due to this and was finally brought up to floor late morning. I was having the expected pain under my ribs and shoulders due to the air used in the laparoscopic surgery, however I was having quite a bit of lower belly pain and was having difficulty catching my breath. Up on the floor, my nurse was Melissa Ziegler. She was definitely my saving grace. She listened to me, helped me, reassured me, and most of all she advocated for me! My blood pressure remained low and kept going lower even though I had been given bolus after bolus of IV fluid trying to bring it up. She was constantly in contact with my provider making sure he knew my condition. She called upon her supervisor and she became as important as Melissa to my care. Together they were awesome! They were great at keeping my husband and me informed as to what was happening and most of all what was about to happen.

I ended up going back to surgery that afternoon for leaking artery in my pelvis. I firmly believe Melissa and the supervisor saved my life.

I could have taken the experience that I had as horrible and negative, focusing on the fact surgery did not go as planned, I had to return to surgery and my stay was 2.5 days. However my husband and I cannot get over the awesome job that Melissa and the supervisor did for me and us. They have become the focus of my experience. We just keep coming back to being thankful they were there. I honestly feel like they saved my life. For that I am eternally grateful.