"This was the scariest time of my life. I am so glad I came into Stevenson."
~ Renee Trivelli, Grateful Patient
To Stevenson Memorial Hospital,
On Friday December 28th, 2018, we welcomed our third little boy to our family at your hospital. The midwives and nurses who delivered our little man were fantastic! Shortly after delivery, we decided to head home.
After 2 short days at home, I began to spike a fever. My midwife, Marci, told me to go get checked out in Emerg and my husband made the choice to go back to Stevenson, instead of another hospital. We had to take our newborn with us, as he was being breastfed by myself.
The Emergency department was very busy, but I was triaged by a nurse named Steve. Right away, he took care to make sure our newborn was kept away from the Emergency area, and other sick patients. He was very accommodating and took the time throughout the wait to make sure we were okay. Steve continued to take great care of me and my family after I was back in a room. I was then seen by Dr. Iraji, who ordered blood work, blood cultures and set me up on intravenous antibiotics. She was also consulting with Dr. Scheeres.
As we were about to be discharged my fever spiked again. Dr. Iraji made the decision to keep me and I am so grateful for this. Had this not been done, I don’t know if I would have returned so fast. Knowing I had my newborn, I asked to be given a crib or a room where we could be kept together. We were moved to the OB department and my husband stayed with us, in the bed next to me. Steve walked me over and we were met by a nurse named Ally. Dr. Scheeres immediately started me on several different antibiotics, without even knowing the cause of my symptoms. Had this not been done, my story would have looked differently!
The following day, December 31st, Dr. Scheeres was in and out of my room, ordering tests, and after my fever spiked again, he was contacting other doctors and specialists to determine how to treat me. On January 1st, 2019, I was told that I had contracted invasive Group A Strep.
Reading up on this bacteria was a very scary thing. Thank goodness, by the time I found out what I had, I had started to feel better. Still, the anxiety and what ifs played in my head. This is where all the nurses in the unit truly helped to make me feel better. They took such great care of me, answered my many questions and put up with my overwhelming anxiety.
Throughout this whole ordeal, Dr. Scheeres continued to contact the nurses to see how I was doing, even on his days off. This was the scariest time of my life and I am so glad I came into Stevenson. I truly felt like a person and the people working cared so much about my well-being.
I am so thankful to all the staff at this hospital. The nurses in OB, Trish, Felina, Ally, Katie, Karen, Shaija, Krystal, Chris, Andrea, Judith, Pat, and Nikki, were phenomenal. They were amazing people to talk to and often helped out with my newborn when I was all by myself. They were in constant contact with Dr. Scheeres to ensure I was okay.
While being in the hospital for so long, I missed our newborn photo shoot. When talking to Trish and Felina, they decided to come in, on their day off, and take photos of our son. I can’t thank them enough for their generosity and compassion. It was truly amazing to see people so giving, during such a hard time.
The housekeeping, security, ultrasound and blood lab staff all helped to take my mind off the situation and make my stay more “enjoyable”. Dr. Iraji and Steve in Emerg were fantastic and had the foresight to keep me in the hospital.
Finally, Dr. Scheeres, there are not even words to express my gratitude towards him. I really felt like he actually cared about me and my well-being. He took the time to consult experts and called in on his time off. He is the reason why I came out of this so well. He treated me for the worst, without knowing I had the worst.
I am so lucky that I came to your hospital that night and ran into all these amazing people. Your staff saved my life, and throughout all this, kept me together with my newborn to continue to breastfeed. It was very clear how well the nurses, doctors and midwives consult and communicate with each other. They really work together to make sure that their priority is the patient and their care. I can not thank these people enough and I am so happy and lucky to continue to be a mom, wife, daughter and sister. I get to watch my boys grow up and I could not be more thankful for these wonderful people that came into my life at such a difficult time!
My sincerest thanks to these amazing people,
Renee Trivelli
