Posted by Bianca Siedlaczek on February 02, 2022
During a recent consultation with a colorectal surgeon, I found myself being heard. My feelings and my goals were shared and validated. It had been so long since I felt this way after meeting with a new provider. After the visit, I sat in my car for a moment, completely taken aback by how well the encounter had gone (especially when I have also experienced having both myself and my concerns written off without even so much as an examination). After this visit, I found myself reflecting on all the healthcare providers who have treated me over the past 13 years. And I just have to say…thank you.
💚 To my pediatrician who found my hemoglobin to be dangerously low before my diagnosis and had me rushed to the emergency room…
💙 To the nurse who sat at my bedside and watched “27 Dresses” with me during my first admission while awaiting a diagnosis…
💚 To the pediatric gastroenterologist who diagnosed me and to every pediatric gastroenterologist after that, but most importantly to my current pediatric gastroenterologist…
💙 To my favorite nurses in the GI clinic…
💚 To my infusion nurses, who I saw so frequently they became like family…
💙 To the woman working at the pharmacy who now excitedly answers the phone “Hey Bianca!” every time I call…
💚 To all my inpatient nurses who helped me get endless arts and craft supplies from Child Life as a kid and who now take the time to teach me (a very-soon-to-be-nurse) about various medications, programming IV pumps, and share tips for placing NG tubes when I am admitted to the hospital…
💙 And to everyone in between…
Thank you.
Thank you for being so kind and patient with me. Thank you for listening to me and taking the time to learn about me beyond my disease. Thank you for celebrating the little victories with me - whether it be an improvement in my blood work or finally watching me self-inject my medication after what felt like hours of me sitting with the syringe in my hand every other week trying to work up the confidence to do it on my own in the infusion clinic. Thank you for always being my teachers, my cheerleaders, and my advocates.
Thank you for helping to shape me into who I am today. You’ve watched me go through so much in the past 13 years - many failed treatments, hospitalizations and surgeries; becoming a patient advocate and mentor for others; a few bouts of remission; graduating high school (and soon to be college)…the list goes on.
You watched me grow from a scared kid who didn’t know what any of this meant, to a strong young adult who has a passion for improving the healthcare system. You made it so easy for me to decide what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.
Since my first admission, I became so interested in healthcare and what went on inside the hospital. From then on, it was always “I want to be a nurse.” There was never a Plan B. There was never a back up plan for my career. I was and still am so determined to become a nurse so I can give back what has been given to me. The kindness, the compassion, the support, all of it.
Some of these moments and memories are so clear to me. I remember a lot of it like it happened yesterday. I don’t remember everyone’s names, or even faces, but the impact you have had on my life will stick with me forever…so, thank you.
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