Michaela Schwartz
February 2017
Michaela
Schwartz
,
BSN, RN
Emergency Urgent Care Center
Mayo Clinic Health System: Franciscan Healthcare in LaCrosse
La Crosse
,
WI
United States

 

 

 

My husband and I had the unfortunate event of bringing our son into the ER at Mayo. My son has a serious addiction and was therefore not cooperating or willing to receive medical care that he desperately needed. The doctor on staff at the time found it necessary to have Chapter 55 instated as our son was not well enough to make his own medical decisions.
Michaela was our nurse; she was outstanding in all aspects. Our son was not cooperating with IV's; the team had to try several times to get the IV's in. It seemed that he was only calm with Michaela, she was the only one that he would allow near him to try to administer the IV. Michaela was professional, kind, and stern with him. Michaela talked to him through each test that was going to be done. She knew when it was appropriate to be soft or stern. My husband and I were amazed how Michaela could calm him; her type of medical care was exactly what our son needed and is a significant reason why our son is still alive today.
A cat scan was done that showed internal bleeding and he was then rushed into emergency surgery. Michaela was not only understanding with him, but also with my husband and me. I was a crying mess and she talked us through all of the procedures being done. She had a way about her that was calming to all of us, and we could all feel her empathy and true concern.
Five days later our son was moved out of ICU, to the 3rdSurgical. My daughter and I were in a sitting room taking a break as Michaela walked up and asked if I remembered her, I said "Yes!" (As I thought to myself are you kidding me, I will never forget you). I introduced her to my daughter, as she had heard all about Michaela. During this, Michaela remained very professional not asking questions about our sonbut showed compassion and genuine care with what information I shared with her. Michaela said she will never forget our family, and we certainly will never forget her. We will always be thankful and for Michaela, she truly helped save our son's life.
The ER and hospitalisextremely fortunate to have Michaela as a team member. She truly exemplifies what being a health care professional means.