My wife was in the University Medical Center of Princeton to have her lymph nodes removed and analyzed for the spread of cancer in her left breast. During the operation I found myself pacing back and forth in the waiting area and then on the floor from the waiting area to the nurses' station. As the minutes ran into hours, my stress and anxiety levels were increasing and I was on the verge of a panic attack. Christina began noticing this in me and as my pacing brought me to her area, she went out of her way to approach me and try to take my mind off of the ongoing surgical procedure being performed on my wife. I, being a private person, resisted at first out of instinct but Christina persisted with the conversation and then with some witty joking. It began to work and I noticed that I was beginning to feel less tension, fear, and anxiety and more calm and reassured that my wife was in good hands and that she was going to be just fine.
The flowing Monday, my wife was again scheduled for surgery to have a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery performed on her left breast. As you can imagine the tension, stress, and emotions were even more intense then the week before. My anxiety level was at its peak when again during my pacing I was approached by Christina who remembered me from before and noticed my condition. She immediately began to calm me, telling me that everything would be just fine and my wife, who is my everything, was going to come through the operation in very good shape. She shared some joking with me and allowed me to use her as the objects of my jokes as a form of stress relief without taking anything personally. Christina is exactly the type of person someone who has a loved one undergoing a serious procedure needs to calm them, and make them feel that the world they imagine is crumbling around them is safe and will have positive results.
The fact that Christina can see past the relative or friend waiting for a patient and see the emotional aspect of a loved one anxiously waiting for a close family member, proves her to be a true asset to your organization. Thank you to you and your hospital for not only caring for my wife and the emotional procedure she was having performed, but for caring for me and my extreme emotions that I was feeling during the entire event. And thank you for having the insight to hire and hold onto individuals like Christina, who has the ability to see the emotional side of procedures and know what the family is suffering through.
We are extremely thankful for Christina going above and beyond her job and responsibilities and that she never lost track of the fact that she is dealing with human beings with emotions and fears.