Rose Rollis
February 2023
Rose
Rollis
,
RN
Post Partum
IU Health
Carmel
,
IN
United States

 

 

 

Rose was amazing, and I will never forget the kindness. 
I had a rough day postpartum. I was dealing with spinal headaches that got worse right at shift change, and significant urinary retention. My day shift nurse had been very busy and missed my pain medication by over an hour, and I was worried that the next nurse would think I was drug-seeking. Rose was exactly the opposite. She made sure to bring my max dose of pain meds ASAP, then also stayed and talked with me about all of my concerns. After one more attempt to use the restroom, she gave me options for care and didn't push one way or another. I opted for a Foley catheter, as we'd already done and an in-and-out one earlier, and I was having terrible pain when I would get out of bed. Rose left to put in the order and get the supplies. By the time she got the order and got back, I thought my bladder might burst (this was not her fault; she wasn't really gone that long), and she did everything as fast as she possibly could. It turns out I was so inflamed that a normal catheter size wouldn't fit, and she had to run and grab another. She ran to get a new one and came back to place it as quickly as possible while still going through all the necessary infection precaution steps. When she got it placed, it drained 1700mL of urine in around an hour. I drained 4L by the end of her shift. Apparently, my kidneys kicked back in before my bladder control. I'm convinced my bladder likely would have ruptured if Rose hadn't been so attentive to my concerns. And this wasn't the end. After the bladder issues were resolved, Rose didn't leave until we had the next steps for the spinal headache issues. I'd been unable to do much of anything for my son at this point (he'd been mostly cared for by my husband and the nursery for bilirubin levels), and Rose genuinely wanted to help me so I could get back to helping my son. She arranged to have anesthesia come discuss options and made sure I was comfortable. I chose conservative management (more because this felt like what anesthesia was recommending than because it was what I wanted), and Rose stayed throughout and made sure I was comfortable. She returned throughout the night, making sure my pain meds were right on time. She also mentioned that she was doing all this after a spinal fusion surgery, and it was evident she was still figuring out how to move herself after that. She didn't bring this up for sympathy but because I needed to get up at one point before the Foley, and she didn't want me to think she simply didn't want to help. She offered to get another nurse, but thankfully, my husband was there to help. Rose was amazing, and I will never forget the kindness. 

Note: This is Rose's 2nd DAISY Award!