To say that Stacy goes above and beyond for her patients is a complete understatement: this is Stacy Walker, RN, CMSRN every day. The amount of compassion and caring that she shows each and every patient she takes care of is something that most nurses strive to achieve daily. For Stacy, it's natural. Although I could speak to many examples of how she shows compassion, I want to tell you about one that touched us all.
We recently had a liver transplant patient with whom Stacy formed a special bond with. If you are unfamiliar with the transplant process, especially liver, most of these patients wait for months or years to get a phone call that will literally save their lives. This patient had waited for years, and finally got the call that a liver had been found for him. Although this patient had gotten this call many times before, it had not worked out in the past. This time was different. He got the call and received his transplant on the anniversary of his father's death, which was around Christmas. Christmas morning, Stacy was assigned to this patient for the first time. He confided in Stacy that he had struggled with this season ever since his father's death, but that he felt that this was a gift from his father telling him to live his new life and enjoy it. Stacy told the patient that she knew how he felt: she had lost her mother years before at this very hospital. The patient began to cry and asked if he could give Stacy a hug. They hugged for a few minutes, and the patient said that he felt like God had sent Stacy that morning, and God was speaking to him through her. When the patient discharged from the hospital, the patient's wife called to ask if Stacy would come to listen to the patient's testimony at church. He told his story to church members and said he knew that having Stacy as his nurse was no accident that day. He told them the story of Christmas day, and how he met a nurse that changes his life. Part of his testimony that his wife posted online, which I will paraphrase, says this:
"It was Christmas day, and I was in the hospital by myself. She came in that morning and introduced herself. She had to go meet her other patients, but when she came back in my room about 8 or 9 o'clock, for some reason I just started telling her my story about my daddy dying. She told me her story about her momma dying... And I don't know what it was, but we cried and hugged each other it seemed like for ten minutes. I don't know how long it was, but I felt Jesus through her, and she felt Jesus through me to her and that was the most exhilarating moment of my life. Until that day I thought I knew what Christmas was about... I loved Christmas, I loved presents, and when I worked, I loved having a week and a half off with pay. After my daddy died, Christmas wasn't the same to me. But when that happened on Christmas day, it made me realize what Christmas is truly about. I left the hospital on my grandma's birthday. I know that everything happens for a reason."
Stacy was sitting in the back of the church to hear this testimony. She never asked for praise, she never bragged about her story. She just did what she does every day: listens, loves, and grows as a nurse.
One day, we had a patient who had been here for months. All the patient wanted was to have clean clothes. Stacy asked the patient if she minded helping her with this... Stacy took the patient's clothes to the dry cleaner to make sure she had clean clothes when she left. This meant the world to this patient.
Another time, we had a patient who could not leave the hospital for medical reasons, and all this patient wanted was her favorite pizza. The next day, without asking, Stacy brought this patient a pizza from her favorite pizza place.
These examples are only a few of many. I cannot think of a nurse that exemplifies Atrium Health's core values more than Stacy Walker. Stacy's dream in life was to become a nurse, and every day she comes to work with the passion she had her first day. It's an honor to work beside her, learn from her, and watch her grow every day.