Hero

Merriam-Webster’s definition is “one that shows great courage.” Urban Dictionary says “Someone who helps without anything expected in return. Their gesture may be big or small, profound or not, it doesn't make im' any less of a hero.”

I’ve met many of these heroes since Justice has been born. I’ve already told you the story about the actual surgery but now I’d like to tell you about a special nurse that was there through it all.

The day started out pretty routine. We showed up, went into the big room, and started talking to the family next to us, visited with the doctors, etc., really not paying much attention to the nurse that was getting Justice ready for surgery. We did talk to her and answer her questions but beyond that, she was just going to be our nurse for a few hours, no one we really felt a need to deeply bond with. Like most families, we didn’t give her much thought, she was just writing down some medical history and starting an IV. Little did I know SHE would change the way I feel about pre/post op. nurses forever.

I wish I could give you her name because she now means so much to me I want her to have every ounce of credit due to her but for privacy reason, I’ll just call her the nurse.

When Justice came out of heart surgery, we expected her to look worse than when she went in but we didn’t expect her to be as swollen and pasty white as she had turned. Not knowing if this was normal, we tried to stay calm and not say very much but we were very worried. Her stats were also much worse and although she vomited on a regular basis, as she woke up, she started projectile vomiting bile up to 5 ft. This was very alarming coming out of a 5 lb. baby.

Suddenly, the nurse that had been taking care of a number of patients was focusing all her attention on our little one. Although she was staying very calm, we could tell she was not happy with the way Justice was progressing and was less and less comfortable with the situation as the deadline for her shift was coming to an end. Although she still had a couple of hours, we could tell Justice was not going to be ready to go home in that amount of time, much less make a 3 hours car ride to get home. Therefore, the nurse call the cardiologist back down to the post op room.

The cardiologist told her there was nothing for him to do. Justice had gone through the surgery fine and the other problems were now GI problems. From his viewpoint, Justice was to be discharged. Again, the nurse stood up for Justice and called her GI doctor who told her there was nothing he could do. Justice vomits, that’s that. Send her home.

It’s hard to explain how bad the situation was. If I’d known then what I know now, I would not have let the nurse do so much of the talking by herself. I would have said more. At the time, I felt extremely scared to take her home, for she looked like she was about to die but I had 2 very educated doctors telling me and not so nicely telling a nurse that Justice was fine and she was going to go home, like it or not. I should have at least taken her to the hospital boarding house over night. I think we would have felt a lot better knowing she was closer to the hospital but the thought never crossed our minds at the time. I think we were too busy worried about her condition.

However, this nurse really went to bat for us. I know she made a lot more phone calls then just calling the two doctors. It’s not easy for a nurse to go up against the “experts” who are considered the ones who know best. Nevertheless, she was there. She was in the room and she was the one that was going to have to tell us to take Justice home when she didn’t feel Justice was stable.

When I see her now, we still stop each other and say hi. We did bond that day. She could have lost her job for being so vocal or her license if anything had happened to Justice later. She also understood the pressure the doctors put Levi and I under by asking us to take Justice home in that condition. I don’t know if the doctor’s had another reason for demanding Justice not be admitted to the hospital overnight. Maybe insurance wouldn’t allow it, maybe they really felt she was fine, I don’t know but I do know for whatever reason, a little baby was sent home without a nurse or the parents understanding that she was safe or how to care for her if things changed.

I don’t have all the answered for healthcare but I am a believer that the first change should be communication. After that, we might try leaving our egos at the door. This wonderful nurse didn’t have an ego, what she had was a warm caring heart combined with an advocating spirit of a mother. She is a hero.