Donated doTerra Essential Oils help create a soothing environment pre and post op

1/11/2018

doTERRA's donation helped relieve pain, nausea, and anxiety

Choosing healthcare as a career many will say is a calling. From a very young age we are drawn to vulnerability, chaos and the desire to improve lives through our skill, mind and many times technology. I have been a nurse practitioner for 20 years and see it as my obligation and passion to stay up on current interventions and bring healing and health to as many people as possible. Over the past few years both my husband (who is also in healthcare) and I have been introduced to essential oils (EO) and have integrated them into our lives. I can't think of a single intervention that has had such broad and positive effects as these oils have on our family. Of course when you discover something great, you want all of your family, friends and patients to share in the benefits.

For this reason I introduced EO's to our mission trip this year! Through the support and donations of many friends and doTERRA's unwavering commitment to improve lives, we were able to supply our patients with oils to help relieve anxiety, pain, nausea, muscle aches and so much more. Diffusers were in both the pre-op area as well as recovery to calm their bodies and bring a sense of relaxation. Our volunteers were also given oils to boost their immune system, improve their gut health, and sleep more soundly. All of the oils were hand carried and labeled with instructions in both English and Spanish. Given the patients have very limited pain medications and are mostly awake during surgery I felt it was my opportunity to improve this experience. If smelling these oil and massaging them on their skin could calm their body and relax their mind then were were in business! The feedback from the team thus far has been tremendous! The local staff and patients have really enjoyed the oils and the volunteers, anesthesiologist, and surgeons have been able to experience the benefits of these oils while improving the lives of the patients we care for. To be honest, I was hesitant and nervous to introduce this new concept to our team, not knowing the reaction I had to trust my gut and my own experience. I have been inspired by our teams openness to try something new and lean into new possibilities. This clearly shows that their heart, motivation, and priority is patient care and they are many times willing to go outside their comfort zone if patients will benefit. Healthcare is a complex system and sometimes going back to the basics, putting your hand on the patient, and believing in your truth is as powerful as any modern medicine. Thank you again for all of the gracious donations and to doTERRA for showing us another way.