Felicia Arthur
A moment where a Nurse impacted Felcia’s life:
This happened 10+ years ago when I was in labor with my first baby. The day shift L&D nurse had been with me all day and coached me through the labor. I still had not had my baby by the time her shift was over at 7:00pm. However, she chose to stay late and wait until I had my baby. Luckily, she only had to stay 29 minutes extra as baby decided to come at 7:29pm.
That simple gesture really touched me and made me feel special, as that nurse chose to sacrifice going home at the end of her shift, stayed the extra time past her shift, and waited until the baby came. To this day, I still remember that simple gesture from that nurse and it is over 10 years later 😊.
Felicia’s most memorable or impactful moment as a nurse:
One of my most memorable moments as a nurse where I felt I made an impact/difference to a patient. I remember a young female patient of mine in her late 20s/early 30s who had rheumatoid arthritis and needed joint replacement surgery. She needed both knees and both hips replaced, and these were to be done urgently. My heart broke for her the first time she came to the surgeon's office as she could barely walk and was on crutches. She was scared, nervous, and anxious when she found out that she was going to have bilateral total hip replacements in a few months’ time.
We needed to get her in for surgery urgently as her quality of life was nonexistent. She had never had any surgery before so understandably she was nervous. I reassured her that I would walk her through each step of the process and made sure I answered all her questions. She had her bilateral total hip replacements and had a smooth recovery. I remember when she came for her 3 month follow up and she was a completely different person than the one I remember from her first consult with the surgeon. She was beaming and her mobility was very much improved.
Now it was time to talk about her getting her knees replaced...she needed bilateral total knee replacements. Understandably, she was nervous but not to the same degree as before. She got both knees replaced and recovered well from those as well.
She came in for 1 year follow up about these surgeries and I was amazed at the person in front of me. She was so happy, her mobility was 100 times improved, and her quality of life was better. She even mentioned that she and her partner were thinking about starting a family – something she had not even been thinking of a year earlier. I was so happy to have been a part of her journey – seeing her go from being a scared/nervous patient who could barely walk to one with a much better outlook on life, improved mobility, and better quality of life (not in pain, being able to return to her job, thinking of starting a family).
I believe I made an impact in this patient's life as I walked her through the process from start to finish for her surgical procedures, answered any questions she had, provided reassurance when she had doubts/fears/felt anxious about the process. I was there for her during the entire process.
Felicia Arthur RN