Yezenia Soto is a Nurse Practitioner.
She cared for a ventilated patient in Medical ICU for several days.
This patient was deaf, blind and mute, which made communication challenging.
There were multiple attempts to extubate the patient without success due to the inability to effectively communicate with the patient.
Staff learned that the patient could read braille, so Soto put braille on paper with the words “breathe,” “stay calm” and “slow your breathing” on her time off to make communication easier.
After decreasing the patient’s sedation, Soto and the nurse tried the braille board and the patient understood, nodded her head and followed the commands.
Soto also purchased an alphabet braille board online to use for the patient. This has given the patient a chance to understand where she is, what is happening, and hopefully comfort her to know that she is being cared for.
This act of kindness touched the hearts of the nurses on the unit and made a huge difference for the patient.
