Margaret Carrigan, RN

I had my hip replaced, and while in recovery, I was greeted warmly by Nurse Margaret (Meg) Carrigan. No matter what I did, the pain would just not subside. Meg would check on me regularly, but she could tell I was not doing well. Eventually the pain became too much, and she could see me struggling with tears streaming down my face. Meg came over to see what she could do to help me and offered some suggestions, from moving to a chair to possibly taking some pain meds. We agreed I would try the chair first, because I am not a big fan of pain medications, but this really did not help.

Now Meg took over; she knelt by my side, comforted me, calmly and compassionately, and asked what she could do to help. I was at a loss. Meg went over pain medication options and assured me that it would help. Meg’s calmness and reassurance had me willing to try. Prior to giving me the pain meds, she located my wife and brought her into the recovery room. My wife could see how much I was struggling, and it startled her, but right away Meg jumped in to explain to my wife what was going on, reassured her that I would be okay, and made her feel better too. All the while, Meg never left my side. She stayed with me, comforted me until the medication took effect and I started to feel better. She accompanied us to the room and stayed until I was situated for the night.

While going over my discharge paperwork, I heard a familiar, soft, calm, and reassuring voice saying hello and asking if I was alright. I looked up, and there was Meg! She was checking in on me prior to discharge to make sure I was okay. Who does that?! I have had my share of hospital stays, having met many wonderful nurses (who I feel are the backbone of any hospital, and the true caregivers), but none like Meg. Meg stayed until she knew I was okay to go home, had everything I needed, and was no longer in the pain I was in when I was first in her care. I will never forget how she took care of me.

Meg was and will always be an angel on my shoulder. Winchester Hospital is such a better place with her working there. She represents the best of a kind, caring, and compassionate Nurse who puts her patients above everything else. I will never forget Meg, how well she took care of me, helped me get through what I was dealing with, and, again, just my angel on my shoulder. My wife and I were so grateful for her coming into our lives, even if for just a moment. Meg is just awesome!