Sue Busken
May 2015
Sue
Busken
,
RN
ICU
SSM St. Joseph Health Center St. Charles
St. Charles
,
MO
United States
... My father had to have heart surgery in 2011 and Sue was his nurse back then. She took the absolute BEST care of him AND our entire family. This experience inspired my dad to volunteer for the Mended Hearts program and he always LOVED when he got to see Sue when he volunteered. He would often see her go visit her patients that had "graduated" from the ICU in other areas.
This past January, my father had an unexpected complication with his heart valve. He developed endocarditis, which required another valve replacement surgery which was NOT expected and extremely scary. He was added to the schedule for a Monday morning surgery and we were told a nurse had picked up a shift to take care of him that Monday. At the time Sue had no idea who the patient was, that is just what she does. She sees a patient in need of her care and she volunteers to fill that need. The Sunday before his surgery, my father was extremely anxious, but was told the ICU staff would come talk to him to explain what to expect this second time around.
When Sue walked through that door the relief my dad felt was immeasurable. He said he knew he was in good hands that would take the best care of him possible. She has a healing presence with patients and families that is a true gift. Unfortunately, after my father's surgery, he had some unanticipated complications. What we now know is that he had a stroke at some point throughout the procedure. He did not wake up for 3 days. These were extremely dark hours for our family and we hoped for the best, but absolutely feared the worst.
On the second day after the surgery as my family sat in the waiting room paralyzed with fear, that angel, Sue, showed up on her day off and knew just what we needed. We cried with her, went to see my dad with her, and then she said, "I thought I would go to mass this morning, would you like to join me?". While my family had prayed and prayed, in our fear we had forgotten the hospital has mass daily. My family attended that mass with Sue and it was the first of many daily masses members of my family attended throughout my dad's recovery. Sue absolutely knew in one of our darkest moments what my family needed and she provided that on her own time...her day off.
I am sure this is not the only time she has given of herself to heal others. We are so thankful for nurses like Sue who care for the entire person, including their family and loved ones. She was the light in a very dark tunnel for us that day and we are extremely grateful to her for that.
This past January, my father had an unexpected complication with his heart valve. He developed endocarditis, which required another valve replacement surgery which was NOT expected and extremely scary. He was added to the schedule for a Monday morning surgery and we were told a nurse had picked up a shift to take care of him that Monday. At the time Sue had no idea who the patient was, that is just what she does. She sees a patient in need of her care and she volunteers to fill that need. The Sunday before his surgery, my father was extremely anxious, but was told the ICU staff would come talk to him to explain what to expect this second time around.
When Sue walked through that door the relief my dad felt was immeasurable. He said he knew he was in good hands that would take the best care of him possible. She has a healing presence with patients and families that is a true gift. Unfortunately, after my father's surgery, he had some unanticipated complications. What we now know is that he had a stroke at some point throughout the procedure. He did not wake up for 3 days. These were extremely dark hours for our family and we hoped for the best, but absolutely feared the worst.
On the second day after the surgery as my family sat in the waiting room paralyzed with fear, that angel, Sue, showed up on her day off and knew just what we needed. We cried with her, went to see my dad with her, and then she said, "I thought I would go to mass this morning, would you like to join me?". While my family had prayed and prayed, in our fear we had forgotten the hospital has mass daily. My family attended that mass with Sue and it was the first of many daily masses members of my family attended throughout my dad's recovery. Sue absolutely knew in one of our darkest moments what my family needed and she provided that on her own time...her day off.
I am sure this is not the only time she has given of herself to heal others. We are so thankful for nurses like Sue who care for the entire person, including their family and loved ones. She was the light in a very dark tunnel for us that day and we are extremely grateful to her for that.