I underwent an emergency laparoscopic salpingectomy and oophorectomy for a hemorrhagic cyst on my left ovary. I’m a transgender man, so that also complicates things. When I woke up in PACU, the intense pelvic pain sent me into a full blown C-PTSD flashback. I was reliving being raped and kept screaming that he’s hurting me. The pelvic pain triggered a massive PTSD episode. Jami was absolutely amazing, I’ve never met a better nurse than her. She was respectful of my gender and gave me top-tier care. Jami obviously had trauma-informed training because she did a fantastic job helping me. She quickly understood what I was reliving and began trying to ground me. She held me as I cried and kept grounding me when I’d go back into a flashback. She had me feel her hair, describe it, describe her hand, describe her face, her eyes, and other grounding exercises. We had to do this repeatedly because the flashbacks were relentless. I was terrified and didn’t understand what was happening. She put my shorts and underwear on to keep me covered—which was a massive help— then lifted my gown to show me my surgical site. She’d have me repeat that the pain down there is from surgery. When it came time to go to the bathroom, I couldn’t hold myself up. Covering my body was/is highly important to me, I am very private about my body as a result of my past traumas. I couldn’t even pull down my pants without help. Jami repeated that we have the same parts, that it’s okay, that I had surgery, and it's just her.

When I was transferred to another unit since I was being admitted overnight, she continued caring for me despite my being in a new unit. She stayed, filled the new nurse in on everything, and worked with the new nurse (for hours, I think). My flashbacks were still strong, and I was scared, but she gained my trust and emphasized that I can trust this new nurse too. She showed the new nurse the grounding techniques we’ve been doing, made sure she new how important it was that i had my underwear and shorts on, and explained what I was reliving. Jami did not leave until I was mentally present again and felt safe with this new nurse.

I cannot thank Jami enough, she has made a massive impact in my trauma recovery. I was SA’d by EMTs several years ago, so my trust in medical providers was nonexistent. My childhood consisted of neglect and abuse. Getting stripped naked was a common tool used to break me, which is a large contributing factor to my need to be covered. Jami could have easily gotten annoyed and just forced me to lie still, just taken my clothes off, and ignore my panic. Instead, she gained my trust, and I’ve never received better care from a medical professional. My therapist was so relieved I had someone like Jami and the trauma training she must have received. When I was reliving the past trauma, I was unsure if I’d make it, to be honest. I would rather die than relive those things. Jami’s kindness and expertise got me through this whole ordeal. I had several emergency therapy appointments after discharge to get me back on track with living. Jami, thank you so much, I will forever be grateful.