I thought I’d share a wonderful note I received from a patient’s daughter (who said it was OK to do so). I’ve edited it slightly to preserve her mother’s confidentiality, but not so much that you can’t tell how grateful she was and to whom.
While one can never say that they were happy to have spent twelve hours a day for two weeks in a row with an elderly hospitalized parent, I can most certainly say that I felt very fortunate that my mother was able to receive her care at your Cal Pacific facility. I work for one of the large hospital networks in Boston, and am acutely aware of how much we are all challenged these days to provide quality care, while moving patients efficiently through the hospital and back home, often working with several needy patients at the same time.
I wanted to let you know about some of the most special people that you have on your staff—from the “lift team” to the nurses and nursing assistants to the residents and physicians. While I did not keep a record of everyone’s name, I want to just briefly mention the care and the attention that both my mother and I received in the many moments throughout those two weeks, when my mother’s condition and ability to cope seemed fragile and at times, hopeless.
Arriving in the middle of the night to the ER, my mother was in the care of the ER and ICU staff until I was able to get a plane from Boston to S.F. to assist her as she and I passed through many stages of uncertainty and confusion, over the next two weeks. Given my mother’s condition, it was a challenge to figure out what was going on and what should be done. Landing on 5 North, the nursing assistants were always gentle with her, helping her to the bedside commode sometimes as often as every 15-20 minutes (at the beginning when she still had strength) or changing her in the bed once she became too weak to get up. The nurses were accessible, helpful, and were responsive when my mother would have a non typical response (e.g. extreme pain with some IV medication). Often they were literally running from room to room to attend to not only my mother’s needs, but several other patients who were in great need of assistance.
It was on the 5th floor that we were first introduced to Dr. Vessey [ed: one of our hospitalists] and Dr. Ademola [ed: one of our internal medicine residents], an amazing pair. Dr. Vessey was always able to provide clear information about my mother’s symptoms, which did not seem to stabilize, explaining what next steps might be necessary. Even if I was not there for rounds, he made a point of coming by to talk with me and my mother and give us an update on her blood work, etc. so we could be apprised of the situation, sometimes several times during the day. Dr. Ademola was a strong advocate for my mother, who as she got weaker, seemed to get more unstable, so Dr. Ademola arranged to have my mother in a room by herself for a couple of days so she could get some rest. She was excellent at offering a sympathetic ear and a kind word when the situation started to deteriorate.
At that point, Dr. Vessey hooked me up with Dr. Lasher [ed: an internist and palliative care specialist]—a man who was meant for the job he has…having to work with people in difficult circumstances, he ALWAYS knew what was going on with my mother before he came to talk to me about the choices and the decisions that had to be made—and he was so knowledgeable about the specifics of my mother’s condition, even though he was not her direct doctor. During some of the hardest days, he would come to see me as many as 3 times during the day to check in….he was a true wonder, and I am still so grateful for his wisdom and how he handled working with me to get to a decision point that felt like a guide, not a director.
Once we went down a different path, Dr. Yee [ed: a surgeon] joined the team, with his resident, Dr. Roll—both were amazingly thoughtful and patient with us, even though time was of the essence. Dr. Roll was always checking in post surgery. Dr. Lasher was there to provide context and I thought what horror had I caused by having her go through surgery, to end up with her visioning flying wooden bed pans and feeling like she was falling and could not stop. And then, a week later after my mother’s discharge, when she had to return to Cal Pacific, Dr. Yee took my urgent call on a late Friday afternoon to help strategize about what was the right thing to do for her (just observe, no intervention right away), and it turned out to be the right answer!
I wanted to give you a blow by blow, because we were in all areas of the hospital (ICU twice), several different floors and units initially and then post surgery, and I think we were very lucky that we were able to receive the care, the kindness, the knowledge, and the support that is so crucial in a critical time.
Once again, I hope you will have a chance to thank the staff—nurses, lift team who were always providing service with smiles and laughter, assistants, physicians and residents—on both my and my mother’s behalf.
I hope everyone, especially those of you who recognize this patient and your own role in caring for her, feels that same sense of pride that I do when I read this, knowing what a difference we made for her and her family. Thank you.
WB
