November 2023
Mysty
Forsythe
,
RN
MedSurg
St. Luke's University Hospital
Bethlehem
,
PA
United States
She was the very best advocator I could have had. I was too sick to advocate for myself. She worked tirelessly, diligently, with kindness and thoughtfulness throughout the whole night.
I am a medsurg nurse for another hospital. I was diagnosed with pancreatitis, biliary obstruction, acute liver inflammation, cholelithiasis. I was transferred from St. Luke's Orwigsburg. I had uncontrolled pain 10/10, knife stabbing gut-wrenching pain for days. Just a note, I am allergic to narcotics and opiates. I did not believe that they had options for me in the beginning. My reaction to narcotics and opiates is hypotension, bradycardia, vomiting, and syncope. When I came to the unit, I was ordered Fentanyl every 2 hours and tramadol with not much relief. I was talked into trying Dilaudid, but I was worried that I would need very close monitoring because of my allergy. Nurse Mysty came on shift, I discussed my reaction with her that if she administered the Dilaudid, she would have to monitor me closely. Nurse Mysty made up a chart to manage my pain and administer the medication. She would administer Dilaudid very slowly and gently so I would not get a head rush. She took notice that I would hold my forehead. Nurse Mysty ran for 2 washcloths, one for my forehead and one for my neck. She would stay with me for about 15 minutes or more after Dilaudid was pushed, monitoring vital signs and oxygen. When I would start to vomit, she would administer Zofran. Then she started to pre-medicate me with Zofran or Compazine. Nurse Mysty was speaking to doctors all night long on my behalf. She was the very best advocator I could have had. I was too sick to advocate for myself. She worked tirelessly, diligently, with kindness and thoughtfulness throughout the whole night. My case was very straining for any nurse. her goal was to keep me safe and pain-free. She did an impeccable job. When I would cry because of the unbearable pain, she would encourage me to carry on. She would remind me that the ERCP would be in the morning, and this would be so much better.