It was a long summer for our family to arrive at your hospital. Some mild GI issues combined with some mild anemia resulted in a rule-out colonoscopy that unfortunately found a 5cm in my daughter's colon. This is not what we expect for a 37-year-old with no family history. A few labs, two CT scans, and a second opinion later, we ended up at your hospital for her surgery. Both surgeons told her to expect stage 2, if not stage 3 colon cancer. By night one in the hospital, my daughter and I agreed that the only explanation for our experience was that we were in an altered universe where somehow, this hospital was able to hire every single kind and caring caregiver possible. From the moment we arrived until the moment she was discharged, the care was incredible. This care permeated from the registration clerk to the clinicians, but the dietary aide, the housekeeper, and the transporter all displayed the same level of excellence. Through all this incredible care, there is a nurse who stood out to us as above and beyond and that nurse is our OR circulator, Jackie.

It may seem odd that the nurse who cared for my daughter while she was mostly unconscious had such a huge impact on us, so I will share why. When Jackie arrived in pre-op, and after introducing herself and asking for my daughter's name and birthdate, her warmth began to shine through. She introduced herself to me and my daughter's other sister. She told us she would be with my daughter and that she would take care of her. It really wasn't what she was saying; it was the empathy that came across in the softness of her voice, in her expressions, and in the way we could feel that she truly cared. After getting my daughter into her beautiful blue hat, we started our walk down the hall to where we would leave my daughter and go to the waiting room. Jackie paused the gurney at the waiting room exit so that we could kiss my daughter goodbye. Jackie didn’t rush this moment and allowed us what time we needed. It was a very scary moment because it was putting us one step closer to my daughter's definitive cancer diagnosis. Jackie assured us she would take care of my daughter and that she would call with updates.

Jackie called three times. The first time, she told me the case had started, the second time, she told me that they were halfway through, and the last time, that they were finishing, and my daughter would be moving to PACU. Those may seem like pretty basic calls, but they weren't. Not only did those calls relieve some of our stress, but they also brought relief. More importantly than the updates, in every call, Jackie spoke calmly and in an unrushed manner.

What I know about the first case in the morning in the OR is that the team is anything but unrushed. There is getting the room ready, identifying the patient, getting her to the room, getting her on the table, doing the prep, doing the time out, and all the other hustle and bustle of starting the first case, while also trying to hit the first case's on-time start goal. But none of the pressure I know that Jackie felt came across in her calls. Every call was just like our "visit" in the holding area, full of empathy and kindness.

I know there are countless patients who are cared for by OR nurses, but because their interactions are brief, these nurses are sometimes overlooked.
The only thing that makes this story even better is my daughter's pathology report that arrived a week later that showed zero cancer cells, and that the surgery was the only cure needed for her condition. Memorial Hermann Mem City should be so proud of their team, especially Jackie.

PS. R and I are both nurses, R, an ER nurse and I work in leadership. We are not the easiest to impress when it comes to healthcare, we were more than in awe!

Thank you for taking time to read this and thank you for creating an environment where patients and their family members can feel safe and are able to easily trust the team!