Alice Potthast
December 2012
Alice
Potthast
,
RN, CEN
Emergency Department
Winter Haven Hospital
Winter Haven
,
FL
United States

 

 

 

My husband was in the emergency department last week with an allergic reaction to multiple (26) fire ant bites. You took care of him and I just want to say thanks for such great care. It was a very busy time in the ED with a full house in the waiting area--his injury wasn't the most demanding issue on your plate but you never made him feel he was any less important than your other patients.

Finding his vein for the IV wasn't easy (never is) and I appreciate your skill and experience as you probed several times to catch the vein. You also gave him lots of information about ant/insect bites since it was his very first experience with an allergic reaction. He was experiencing tightness in his chest/heart area and was really concerned about it you monitored that situation quickly and closely and reassured him that it was normal after an allergic reaction and it did soon returned to normal. You also made sure that he didn't leave the hospital without a script for an EpiPen and a thorough understanding of how to use it if/when anything like this happens in the future.

My husband is a diabetic and his BS number elevated quickly after the bites and stayed that way for several days again, you had cautioned him to expect that so he wasn't at all concerned after we got home. Sure enough, his BS numbers returned to normal after he finished up his prescribed steroid meds. We appreciate you taking care of him during the moment, but also educating him about what to expect from his meds, using the EpiPen, and understanding that his BS numbers would spike until his meds were finished.

You were so great with the way you teased with him and made him feel comfortable, he's still talking about his great nurse. You're the best, and we appreciate what you do and how you do.