The CF nurse in the respirology department of the QEII is retiring and Amy and I are sad. It was her last week this past week - coincidentally when Amy and I both had clinic appointments so we were able to say a tearful fair well. Well, to be realistic, I said goodbye as she was giving me my pneumonia vaccine booster.
She's been the nurse at the adult CF clinic the entire time we've been there. We switched over from the children's IWK CF clinic at some point in our teens. I think Amy had aged out of the hospital but they let her stick around for a bit longer so we could both go to the adult clinic together rather than having different clinic days. I think I was given the choice if I wanted to stay but it made sense to switch over together to minimize the driving for Mom and Dad.
We've been with the adult clinic team in Halifax since leaving the IWK and while physiotherapists, social workers, and psychologists have come and gone, the doctors, nurses, and dietician have stayed the same almost the entire time. The dietician we had had for over 15 years did retire last year but her new one is fantastic and I'm just as comfortable complaining about my diabetes with her as I was the other one.
The new nurse is going to have their work cut out for them. I email or call anytime I feel like anything is wrong and it's always the CF nurse who gets the initial call. Or I'll call to check my blood work, or to change an appointment date, or if my lung function is down a bit. Basically, I've reached a point in my life where I'm trying to stay on top of any health issue and that involves a lot of calls to the CF clinic. The great part has been that I've always felt comfortable contacting them and am always listened to even if it's just to tell me that my magnesium is low. And if I email about every little thing, I imagine everyone else in clinic does as well with all of their questions.
I don't want to say that the nurse is irreplaceable but it's going to be hard to find someone who is as carrying, and compassionate, and no nonsense, and efficient. She's been there with me through it all, all my hospitalizations, my feeding tube, my transplant work up, my cancer diagnosis, basically the last 15 or so years. It's not going to be the same clinic without her.
