I have spent many, many days in hospitals, and in rehab with my recently deceased MIL... She was very sick at times without much control over anything. The nurses and aids were not only good to her and saw to her needs, but they were also very good to me. So let me say to all you sweet nurses out there, we may not remember your name (seems those crazy name badges are always facing in, or do you put them on that way?) but we will never ever forget the great help you give, along with kindness and reassurance and patience and hope, and sometimes a snack or a warmed blanket!
There is one special nurse out there somewhere that listened to me when I asked her to check Mom again, for the 4th time.. I just knew something was going wrong even though her vitals seemed just fine... She was being dismissed and I just knew something was not right. That sweet woman looked at me as I told her that I wasn't comfortable and felt something was wrong.. she said, if you feel that way I will call her doctor and tell him we need him to see her. She convienced the doc. to come check her.. It was a lifesaving decision she made. Mom was just at the beginning of a septic infection, which very nearly killed her. Had that nurse not listened and we would have taken Mom out of the hospital I am quite sure she would have died that day. It was a month long battle to save her life as it was.. but she did recover, she had 3 very good years after that, because of a nurse who would listen to someone who really doesn't know much.
So while you may not hear much from us after we leave your care, we do not forget, ever. Bless you all, you are the ones who really make the difference in health care.