I would like for everyone to know that words put down on paper cannot begin to describe the level of comfort and care this nurse provided to my son and our family. Our son was admitted to STICU from the ER with bleeding from his ostomy site. He was in the end stage of colon cancer and his liver was beginning to fail. Because he was admitted for a bleeding issue, he was not assigned a hospitalist for his care, and treatment centered on the bleeding issue. After one night in STICU, he was transferred to the heart center due to a lack of beds elsewhere in the hospital. It was our good fortune that this nurse was assigned to our son for the three days he was on 5 Heart.
Each of the three days, the surgeon suggested sending our son home because the bleeding had stopped. Each day, this nurse advocated for our son and family and encouraged the surgeon to provide additional direction and guidance on his care. My son was 34 years old and we knew that his time was short. As his family, we felt helpless. Because of our nurse's diligent care and collaboration with Case Management and Palliative care, hospice came to meet with us. We cannot express the measure of gratitude we have for this nurse. She provided kindness, patience, and empathy beyond measure.
Leigh Long was certainly sent to us at a time when we needed her the most.