Surgical nurse hums her way into patient’s heart

Kristen Hunter, a surgical nurse at UCHealth Memorial Hospital North, could see her patient was especially anxious as his gallbladder surgery was about to begin.

“This wonderful lady took my hand, began to stroke my hair and in a very soothing and calming voice told me over and over that everything was going to be OK,” the patient later wrote in a letter complimenting the surgery team.  “She then did something I have never experienced before. While holding my hand and stroking my hair she began humming in my ear.  These truly amazing acts of kindness eased my anxiety and completely put me at ease.”

Humming isn’t part of the 15-year nurse’s usual pre-surgery preparation routine or personal demeanor. It just seemed to be the right thing to do. At the time, she wasn’t even sure the patient was still awake.

“I could tell how nervous he was,” Hunter said. “I just asked myself, ‘What can I do to help?’”

While gallbladder surgeries were routine for everyone else in the operating room, Hunter had seen anxious patients before. But she recognized her patient had more than a usual amount of pre-surgery jitters.  In his letter, the patient described himself as being in a near-panic as he mentally processed his high-risk classification and remembered his grandfather and uncle dying during surgeries similar to his.

Hunter is used to handling myriad details to make sure a surgery goes smoothly, including making sure surgeons have everything they need and assisting anesthesia in placing arterial lines. But she always finds a moment to make the patient more comfortable. She offers to reposition them, cover them with a blanket or put her hand on a patient’s shoulder in an effort to reassure them.

“I usually say, ‘We’ll take good care of you,’’’ Hunter said. “I’ve heard from patients over the years that they appreciated those simple words.”

It’s a formula Hunter has refined in her 15 years as an operating room nurse, most of which were spent in central Texas hospitals near where she was raised. She joined UCHealth two years ago when her husband’s job as a U.S. Army contractor brought them to Colorado Springs.

“We love it here,” Hunter said. “As a Texan, snow is still new to me.”