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The first time Arro walked into the Reeve house, the
actor's wife, Dana, was fixing breakfast for the couple's
3-year-old son. She pointed to the room where her husband
was with the nurse who was caring for him at the time.
"The first thing I saw were those blue eyes. I
thought to myself, 'Those are piercing blue eyes,' "
Arro said.
Arro spent three hours observing the nurse who was
caring for Reeve. "My orientation included watching
and filing information in my brain." The nurse
used a device called a coughalator, which Arro had never
seen before. Having a background in ICU, her only experience
with clearing secretions for ventilator patients was
the use of wall suction. This machine was different
because it alternately applies positive then negative
pressure to the patient's airway to clear secretions.
The process is repeated until the lungs are clear.
"I practiced that over and over in my brain. That
was the extent of my orientation," Arro said.
Two days later, with no hands-on training, Arro found
herself alone caring for Reeve. "I still don't
know how I did it, or what possessed me to just go there
and do it with no training. I worried about something
happening, but then I thought, I will just use my critical
care nursing skills. A patient is a patient," she
said.
Arro decided to focus on her experience and her nursing
skills to plan what needed to be done to make sure her
patient was OK. "I amazed myself," she said.
Because Reeve is a patient with celebrity status, Arro
has to take special precautions to respect his privacy.
All of Reeve's medical staff sign special confidentiality
agreements. Arro also values the close relationship
she has developed with the Reeve family during the last
seven years.
"I clicked with Chris, Dana and the kids."
After two years of working part time, Arro quit her
job in ICU and went to work for Reeve full time. "You
are in the home every day and you see things differently
than in a clinical setting. You meet relatives and family
and you have to work hard to respect the patient's privacy."
While Arro has a close relationship with Reeve, she
is constantly aware that she is there to assist him
as a nurse and care for him. "You blend into the
family, but you are not family. We are friends; however,
I refrain from being too involved in what is going on,
even though I am involved.
"It is their life and I have my life. There is
a demarcation line. The dynamics are very intricate
and we respect one another," she said.
Arro is a busy nurse. She is head nurse for Reeve's
staff of two full-time RNs and a group of per diem nurses.
She is always on call.
Perks come with working for a high-profile patient.
Reeve travels a great deal and where he goes, Arro goes.
On day trips, Arro takes one nurse and two aides with
her, but on longer trips she schedules additional staff.
They have traveled to as many as eight states in a month.
Traveling is not a problem for Arro; she enjoys it.
"If Chris said, 'Dolly, I am going to the moon,'
I would say, 'When?' "
Shortly after his accident, Reeve announced publicly
that he would walk by his 50th birthday. His birthday
passed Sept. 25, and unfortunately, Reeve was not able
to report that he had reached the milestone he felt
would mark his full recovery. Instead, he has regained
his sense of touch and feeling in one of his fingers.
It is that kind of determination and positive thinking
that Arro believes will decide Reeve's ultimate success
in recovery, and Arro is proud to be a part of it.
"If the doctor says, 'After two years you will
not recover,' he will prove them wrong," she said.
Arro also believes that Reeve's desire to work for a
recovery is unprecedented. Whether exercising on the
bike, mat or in the pool, Reeve is the first to say
it is time to exercise. If he is forced to miss a day
of exercise because of travel, he always makes it up.
"He never takes no for an answer," Arro said.
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