Washcloth and ice chips?

It was a cold March morning, much like any other. I sat on a Zoom call, working through our project management tasks, when Mike's call came in. He never calls during the day.

"Sarah, hang on a minute. My husband is calling, and he never calls me during the day."

"Hello."

"Sarah, I have to go."

I rushed out of the house, driving as carefully and yet as fast as possible, weaving through traffic. Arriving, I scanned the parking lot for a quick place to park. My heart sank when I saw an EMT vehicle parked in front.

"Hi, Melissa. You may not remember me, but I'm Mike's boss. He passed out and fell. The paramedics are checking him out now. He's coherent but probably needs to go to the ER to be checked out."

"Okay," I responded, climbing the stairs, extremely nervous for what I was about to see.

As most of you know, I walk through life and look at all my experiences, applying them to leadership lessons. I can’t help myself, whether it’s a seagull that stole a brownie bite out of my hand or my husband passing out at work. No, I didn’t think about it in the moment. It was after the fact when all was calm.

I’ll spare the details, but Mike suffered from a bleeding ulcer. He was losing blood quickly, and his blood pressure dropped to 78/46. Did I ever feel he was in danger of losing his life? No, not after we were in the hospital. They stabilized his blood pressure quickly, admitted him, and he was alert and awake the entire time. Looking back, it could have gone horribly wrong. But thanks be to God and the hospital staff, it did not.

The hospital doctors and nursing staff in both the ER and hospital were exceptional. There was one situation that leads me to our leadership lesson today. Follow up and follow through.

In full disclosure, on that particular day, salt was my means of communication. Grace was nowhere to be seen or heard. Exhausted and scared, I barked a few times, which is no excuse. In fact, it’s rather embarrassing when from his hospital bed, your husband says, “Melissa, grace and salt?”

If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I’m a freak about communication. You might as well call me a communication coach. Communication is critical to solving world peace! (that’s how important it is.)

There are six steps to the communication process. I want to talk about the sixth step: feedback or follow-up/follow-through. This is where the communication broke down.

Surgery was tough. Waking up after an hour of a tube down your throat while the doctors cauterized the bleeding ulcer wasn’t pleasant. Lips parched. Cotton mouth as dry as the Mohave desert in the heat of the summer. And your throat is raspy and irritated.

“Can I have some water, Doc?”

“No, I’m sorry no water for at least four hours.”

“How about a wet washcloth for his lips or ice chips?” I chime in.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to that.”

Excellent, I’ll call the nurse. I’m never comfortable ringing the call button if it’s not an emergency. I thought.

I push the call button.

“Can I help you?” The CNA asks entering the room.

“The Dr said that he could have a wet washcloth or ice chips until he can have fluids.”

“I’ll check with the nurse and get back to you.”

“Sounds great. Thank you.”

And this is where step number six breaks down.

Hour one passes.

Hour two passes.

Hour three passes. Should I go get him a wet washcloth and ice chips myself?

 The door opens!

Please don’t misunderstand. I am not hating on the nursing staff, CNAs, or doctors. They did a tremendous job and saved Mike’s life. I’m wondering where the breakdown in communication was? Did we speak to the same doctor? There were several doctors involved. Did the CNA think the nurse was going to follow up with us or did the nurse think the CNA would follow up?

Has that happened to you before? You have a conversation and think the other person will update the boss so no one updates the boss…that’s what I think happened here. It wasn’t intentional. Their heart was in the right place.

But it is a lesson we can all learn from.

Step six of follow-up is very important. When we’ve made a commitment, we need to honor it. When we’ve told someone we will get back with them, then we should. And if we can’t in the timeframe of our commitment, then send them a note telling them it’s still on the to do list. 

Finally, be sure that when a message needs to be sent (step one in the communication process), identify who will be following through to deliver the message. :)

Closing the loop in communication with follow up and follow through builds trust and strong relationships. 

Thank you to the paramedics, Mike’s boss, colleagues, and entire hospital staff at Javon Bea Hospital for saving Mike’s life!

Melissa