“My husband suffered a stroke 2 years ago while we were out to dinner with some friends. I didn’t leave the hospital for 3 days – when the Dr. said things looked pretty stable I took a quick break to go home, shower, and change clothes.
When I returned, the Dr. said his MRI showed a large mid-line shift and, if they didn’t remove a portion of his skull, the brain swelling could be fatal. After that event, I was terrified of leaving the hospital again.
They did the operation and said they needed to keep him in a coma for at least a couple of weeks. So, for 3 weeks, I lived in that room, sitting by his bed, holding his hand and talking to him.
I left for an occasional 30-minute run to grab whatever I could to eat in the cafeteria. The nurses were kind enough to waive the visiting hours and they knew I’d taken up residency there.
About 10 days after the surgery, he spiked a fever and they put him on a ‘chilling pad’ to bring it down. Well, the room was already freezing and that dropped the temp even more.
I had a sweater, but I was still miserably cold. One evening, I was sitting there next to his bed, in my uncomfortable plastic chair, shivering, when the nurse walked in.
I thought she was there to do something for him – instead, she came over, gave me a hug and some encouraging words. Then, she draped a warm blanket around me (she’d taken one from the warming cabinet in the hallway – they are supposed to be for patients only).
At one of the lowest points in my life, her thoughtfulness was truly moving and that warm blanket and her warm words made all the difference for me that night. I can’t express how much I appreciate what she did for me.”
