Char Charnholm
April 2020
Char
Charnholm
,
RN
MedSurg
EvergreenHealth
Kirkland
,
WA
United States

 

 

 

My mom was admitted to the hospital to recover from a Lobectomy to remove a tumor. Char was one of many amazing nurses who cared for my mom during her week stay. I am an only child, and my mom is single so needless to say, I am her primary care and support. Before my mom's surgery, I had never been faced with such a challenge to care for and be strong enough emotionally to handle this level of stress, especially at night. When Char came on during her night shift I immediately was relieved to know not only my mom was going to be cared for but I was as well.
Char connected immediately with us both, asking questions to get to know us, sharing about herself and her mom's relationship, and bringing her light, warm-hearted sense of humor each time she visited us, which was often. Not to mention the name similarities, my mom's name is almost the same, we laughed about the fact that they were so close in name. Char wasn't JUST a nurse. During that week I wasn't alone, my mom wasn't alone. We knew Char was going to take care of us both, make us laugh, make sure we were ok. Being an only child my whole life I've had a huge and honorable burden on my shoulders to be sure my mom was and is going to be ok, I couldn't fix this for her this time. I couldn't take away the pain; I couldn't help her emotionally as well as I could because I was emotionally broken.
Because of Char's ability to connect with us on so many personal levels, I was relieved to know that she could help relieve my mom's pain, help her physically, support her needs and overall help me emotionally. I am forever grateful for Char's attentive, compassionate, and connected sense of caring and loving she gave to my mom and me both. And a huge thank you to everyone at Evergreen for EVERYTHING you do. From every corner of every department, we felt loved and supported.