My name is Caston Thomas and I am the North Central Sales Representative for Voalté; a job that I love. When was the last time you had one of those situations where the reaction you got from someone was mind-blowingly unexpected?  I was telling a friend of mine about what we were doing at Voalté  and about the problems we help solve with caregivers.  She started to sob.

Now, I’ve got a great circle of friends.  They’re a supportive and wonderful group of people.  So, when I’m on a roll, going so far as waving my arms with excitement as I talk about what I do, I don’t expect the reaction to be crying with obvious sadness.  These were not tears of joy.  But when you hear the rest of the story, you’ll understand, just as I did. 

You see, my friend is a respiratory therapist.  She works hard at her jobs.  She floats between two hospitals and works long hours but enjoys what she does so much that I don’t think I’ve heard her complain about her work even once.  She entered into the profession to touch peoples’ lives - to really make a difference.  It doesn’t take long when you meet her to know that she loves what she does.

That evening, “Ann” told me a story - the reason my excitement brought back a painful memory – the event that almost caused her to leave the profession and the one that caused her to struggle with “burn out” for a couple of years.  As best I can retell her story, “Ann” was in the ER one evening.  She had been called down to help an elderly gentleman that had been brought in by ambulance.  He was having serious problems breathing – complications from pneumonia, if I recall correctly.  It was late at night and his family had yet to arrive.  Well, the man entered a state of serious respiratory distress.  He was drowning on the bed and there was little she could do.

“Ann” told me there was one chance in a hundred that he would be alive if she left the room to find the people and equipment she needed to save the man’s life.  In one short moment that seems like a lifetime, “Ann” had to make a single, gut-wrenching decision.  “Do I leave this man alone, almost certain that he will be dead before I’m able to find what I need to save his life?  Or do I stay with him so he doesn’t die alone?”

“Ann” told me, just as I’m sure she’s told a hundred other people, about looking into this gentleman’s eyes as he died – the panic, the confusion, the desperation.  I don’t know this, but as she told me her story, I was imaging that the pain I saw in her eyes was a replay of what she saw that evening.

“Ann” said she still wakes up from time to time, this man’s eyes haunting her in a nightmare.  I must confess that I can’t even pretend to understand what she’s gone through.  That event happened many years ago and it still affects her tremendously.  I have never brought it up again.

As much as I don’t want to believe this, I’m afraid that just about every nurse that has been in the profession for a while has a similar story.  I admire every single person that has dedicated himself or herself to the nursing profession. 

Working at Voalte gives me the opportunity to impact people’s lives.  I know that I am improving the lives of the caregivers I serve.  Indirectly, I know that I’m helping to create an environment where every patient and every family member has a better experience, even if it is under very difficult circumstances.  Thank you.  It is a privilege to serve you.