Absolutely wonderful surgery experience
I had surgery at Battle Creek Bronson Hospital on February 11. This was a surgery I had put off because I had never had a surgery before and I had much anxiety and worry about all of it. Your team there that morning was absolutely wonderful!
The nurse that was the most outstanding was my post-op nurse, Sarah Ward. From the time I was awake and aware of how I was feeling, she was attentive and empathetic. I never felt like I was being rushed to get up, get moving and leave. That also was one of my concerns. I felt like Sarah was an answer to many of my prayers, having a nurse that I felt was compassionate, kind and understood what at times I didn’t know what to expect. She communicated to the surgeon things she thought she should know and the surgeon’s assistant came to check on me. That gave me peace of mind that they wanted me to be confident I could take the time my body needed before going home. We live an hour away from the hospital and I didn’t want to be that far and then have problems arise that would send me back to the hospital an hour’s drive again.
Sarah helped me in practical ways so kindly and to help me have as much dignity as possible, not easy when you’re in a condition relying on so much help and not used to needing help for those things. She was thoughtful and let me know ahead of time, how certain things would feel at first, so I was prepared and not scared or worried something was wrong. When I was finally comfortable to be able to leave, it had been six hours since surgery. But I left without stress or worry about leaving. I want to highlight this part, because my adult daughter was in a different hospital where after surgery she was not given time to recoup and instead was rushed out before she was ready. She had complications after getting home, and was back in the ER the next day. I did not want to experience that.
Sarah was outstanding in her care, patience, compassion, kindness, respect and empathy. I could not have asked for a better nurse. I felt like she truly cared about me, visited with me, and was my friend for those few hours. Our son is a Nurse Practitioner, so we know the medical training and education involved, but to a patient, it’s not just what your nurse knows but how they treat you that conveys you are in very good hands and let’s your mind and body relax and start healing. In this world those inner qualities are lacking in many people. You have an outstanding, valuable person working on your team. She is someone to be very proud of. I believe she is very worthy of this award and hope your recognition of her lets her know how valued she is.
