I first had the opportunity to speak with Sue Averill, one of Swedish's many incredible nurses, last year. As you may have read in her prior post, she's doing incredible work to serve in communities around the world, and shared a story from her recent work in Haiti that illustrates the art of nursing:
Last month I traveled with other nurses and doctors to Port Au Prince, Haiti, with Project Medishare, working at Bernard Mevs, the only neuro-surgical and trauma facility in the region. Project Medishare’s goal is to train Haitian doctors and nurses and to establish sustainable programs so the facility can function independently beyond the departure of expats. Among my role as ER and Triage nurse, I was anointed “The Hysteric Whisperer."
Many teenage girls and young women came to the hospital via ambulance or private vehicle presenting in catatonic states, hyperventilating or as “post-ictal seizure” patients. We soon learned that these were anxiety/panic attacks. One teenage girl was brought with ambulance lights blazing and sirens blaring for "seizures" – but made eye contact and was purposefully moving around in the gurney - not in a post-ictal state. The doctor approached the patient and shouted, "Prepare to intubate!"
Intubation was certainly not necessary. Three minutes later, I held the girl’s hands and helped her off the gurney and onto a chair.
With an astounded look on his face, the doctor asked “How did you do that? That was magic!” I ...
