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The Power of Human Touch
Cathy Schmidtman
Jul, 2015
Physicians: Nassir Mansour, MD; Jay Sandor, MD
When Cathy Schmidtman, 67, a Watervliet resident, thought of a hospital and the people who worked there, words like “sterile” and “white” came to mind. That was until her most recent experience at Lakeland Medical Center, St. Joseph, which she later described as “humanizing” and “warm.”
For years Cathy had problems with her back. She had tried everything, with little success. After trialing a temporary spinal cord stimulator, and finding significant relief, she decided to seek a more permanent solution. Cathy had heard good things about Neurosurgeon Nassir Mansour, MD, and after doing a bit of research on her own, decided to have him perform her spinal surgery.
A spinal cord stimulator procedure is a delicate process that can take hours to complete. Cathy had to remain awake for the procedure, lying face down staring at the floor. When she was first brought into the operating room, Dr. Mansour was quick to explain everything the team was doing. As she lay motionless on the table staring at the floor beneath her, her first playful and plaintive question was, “Where’s the movie?”
As the hours ticked by, both Anesthesiologist Jay Sandor, MD, and nurse anesthetist Van Simpson, recognized Cathy’s anxiety, discomfort, and boredom. On multiple occasions, they individually reached out and took her hand, saying, “squeeze tight.” That small bit of human touch and reassurance gave Cathy confidence and peace. She described their actions as, “humanity at is bravest.”
As they were entering the fourth hour of her procedure, Cathy repeated her playful request, “Where’s the movie?” Hearing the question for a second time, Jordan Alberda, RN, knew exactly what Cathy needed and what to do to meet that need.
“As I was looking straight down toward the operating room floor, a white sheet appeared,” said Cathy. “A moment later my nurse, Jordan, crawled under the table. He laid on his back and stared straight up at me. There was a twinkle in his eye and a very broad smile on his face. As he beamed me that smile, he said, ‘How’s this for a movie?’”
Jordan remained on the floor a few more minutes to chat with Cathy. An hour later the procedure was finished, coming in at a total of five hours. Yet, it’s not the length of the procedure that Cathy remembers, rather the care she received.
“They had such a wonderful human touch, it’s kind of hard to put into words,” said Cathy. “A lot of warmth, caring, concern and laughter was shared between my care team and I – it wasn’t all serious. The right time, the right place, and the right people made it was one of the best experiences of my life.”