Vanessa

Caring staff eases fear and anxiety

Vanessa Edwards had a lot of fear and anxiety leading up to her outpatient colon biopsy procedure at the Christian Hospital Endoscopy Lab in August 2021, but all that changed in an instant when she arrived at the hospital.

“I was going through something that I didn’t know the answer to,” recalls Venessa, “and I didn’t know what to expect coming to the hospital during the pandemic. But all my anxiety was gone when I got to registration because even though the lady that helped me, Sharmae Young, had a mask on, I could feel the warmth and compassion from her. I was preregistered and the handbook provided to me earlier answered every question I had, so it was a quick process. I know everybody has a job to do, but when it’s done in a warm and caring way it makes you feel so much better. From that moment on everything was wonderful!”

After an escort to the Endoscopy Lab, Vanessa was able to briefly relax with her husband, Brad, and meet her care team before her procedure began … and the next thing she remembers is waking up!

“My eyes opened and there was my doctor (Rehan Rafiq, MD) telling me everything was OK and he asked if I had any questions. You never know what to expect when you open your eyes – and to see him staring at me with the rest of the team there, well we all ended up laughing and having a good time. Even as we walked out, they were still talking to me. I mean the whole health care team made me feel like we all knew each other. It was an awesome experience, the facility was clean, and we had a great day going forward.”

Vanessa received a follow up call the next day. “Calling just to make sure I was OK and to see if I needed anything was a really good thing for me,” says Vanessa. “Christian Northeast is right in my neighborhood, so I’m used to it, and I worked there years ago so I really know how a patient needs to feel – you just want to feel good because you just don’t know what the outcome is going to be. So, if you make me feel good coming in and doing the procedure, it’s a win-win!”  

The best part of Vanessa’s story is that she received good news on her biopsy!