I met Shica during one of the scariest times of my life. I came in 6 days postpartum with blood pressures of 200s/110s and a pulse of 42. I honestly thought I was dying. It didn’t help that when I got to labor and delivery, it seemed like everybody kept repeating, “You could have a stroke or seizure.”

Shica started by introducing herself and telling me they were going to give me some medicine for my high blood pressure. Then she told me I was going to be on a magnesium drip and asked if I had ever had mag before. When I told her no, she took the time to explain how it would make me feel and what it would do for my body.

Later, I got overwhelmed and was so scared that I started crying. She tried calming me down, but when I didn’t calm down, she put her hand on my shoulder and told me I didn’t need to worry until she worried, and she wasn’t worried. That honestly helped a lot.

Since I had just had a baby, I was very swollen, and when Shica tried to put in a catheter, it hurt so bad, and I bled a lot. She tried twice and couldn’t get it. She apologized profusely for hurting me, which was crazy because she was just doing her job. When another nurse suggested to the doctor that they try a children’s catheter, thankfully, he said no. Shica suggested a bedpan.

When I overflowed the bedpan and was so embarrassed and worried about how I was going to use the bathroom, Shica hunted me down a bedside toilet. I was so excited, but Shica set me straight and told me that since I was on the mag drip, I had to be very, very careful. She didn’t want me trying to get up without help.

Other nurses would come in and take note of my BP, maybe give me a new bag of fluids, and leave. Shica would come in and grab my cup and refill it and shove pillows under me to try to tilt me one way or the other. She was constantly telling me what was going on. I never felt “out of the loop” when she was my nurse.

Where other nurses stood and watched as I fell into bed because the mag made me extremely weak, Shica drew labs to make sure it was still “therapeutic.” When my doctor put me on BP meds before I was discharged, Shica told me several times to be very careful getting up because the meds could make me dizzy. She even came back before I left, when I wasn’t her patient anymore, to remind me to be careful at home.

I’m sure all the nurses at Doctors Hospital are great nurses, but Shica is an outstanding nurse. She should be the shining example of what a nurse should be. Shica is the best of the best, and I have told so many people about this amazing nurse that I had the pleasure of meeting.

I truly believe Doctors Hospital is a better hospital simply because Shica works there.. I could go on and on about this angel on Earth, but I’ll stop here.

 This all happened a year and a half ago, and I think the fact that she is still on my mind should speak volumes to the truly amazing person she is.