Sarah Smith
May 2018
Sarah
Smith
,
RN
Medical Surgical
Indiana University Health West Hospital
Avon
,
IN
United States

 

 

 

Sarah truly impacted my family when we stayed at IU West. Sarah was my mom's day nurse for a couple of days while she was here. When my mom was admitted to the hospital we were under the impression it was because she had low oxygen and that it would only be a 24 hour watch stay. However, after a couple of days my mom took a turn for the worst and was diagnosed with stage four cancer. Our entire family was devastated. Sarah took it upon herself to come into my mom's room everyday she was with us with a smile on her face. She often times was met with a room full of people and she acted as though we were all her family. She showed compassion as my mom started to get 103 temperatures and couldn't wake up or remember anything. Sarah spoke with my mom and family frequently about what was going on as well as other things to get everyone in the room smiling. Sarah came quickly and calmly every time my mom called for her and was always more than willing to do more than what was asked of her. This is only half the story though. Sarah was not scheduled to work the weekend and my mom was due to be discharged on Monday. Sunday afternoon, on her day off, Sarah showed up in my mom's room to check on her. She sat down next to her and talked with my mom, making her laugh and smile, as well as the family members sitting around her. She truly felt like one of our family members. Before leaving, Sarah was teary-eyed and confessed she did not want to leave my mom or my family. Needless to say, no one else in the room wanted her to leave either.
Sarah was truly a bright spot in what was one of the worst weeks of my family's lives. She kept my mom comfortable and happy. Not only did she tend to her as a patient, but more importantly, a friend or a mother whom Sarah also cared for. Sarah was always so accommodating to the 3-5 other people in the room. Never leaving without offering to get drinks, snacks, anything anyone could want. At such a rough time, Sarah made an impact on my mom and family that changed some of the worst days into good ones and for that, our family could not be more thankful.