What Does a Humira Nurse Ambassador Do?

When I started taking Humira a few months ago, I was assigned a Nurse Ambassador — I’ll call her S — who would focus on how I was feeling with the biologic, specifically. At the time, I was struggling with getting attention from my doctor, so knowing I had another resource felt comforting.

My first injection with my Humira Nurse Ambassador

On our first phone call, S called to ask me what my plan was for ordering and receiving Humira and injecting my first dose. She also explained to me that she was there to help me map out my goals and that I could always call her if I was having a bad day with my health. To be honest, I cried after this call. I just felt so grateful that someone in the medical field actually cared about what was going on with me.

Having S in my life in those early Humira days was vital. I went to the doctor’s office for the first injection, but when the second one came around, I was nervous I would do something wrong. S taught me how to inject the Humira through a video call and then she watched me do it the first time.

She counted with me as I held the needle straight and waited for the medication to drain into my stomach region. And then she praised me for doing so well. That kind of encouragement meant a lot and made me more confident to do the injections myself later.

Check-ins and extra support

S would also call me to check-in and make sure I took my doses of Humira. Though I was always good about staying on my dosage schedule, I was grateful that I had a backup person to check in on me, since I knew that skipping doses could really affect the impact of the medication.

S would also ask if I was experiencing any symptoms like rashes or fevers, which helped me keep track of side effects or illnesses that could be damaging to someone on immunosuppressants. And if there was anything she could send me — like a cooling travel pack to store my medications in when my partner and I were moving, or a journal to log when I’d taken my Humira doses and on what side of my stomach — she would type away at her computer and do so.

The human side of things

During those conversations with S, she treated me like a friend more than a client. Before checking in, she would ask me what hobbies I’d been doing that week and how my cat was faring. Her chipper nature took the stress out of the Humira injection experience and normalized my inflammatory bowel disease too. Instead of always centering on my illness, she wanted to know about other things in my life.

One of the other things I really appreciated about S was that she would always thank me for allowing her to be part of my life and my journey. She would thank me for sharing too. I began to realize that I was giving S access into some very private and intimate details about me. But S recognized that and honored it. Her appreciation for my sharing helped me feel more comfortable sharing with others too.

My Nurse Ambassador was exactly what I needed

Unfortunately, I ended up needing to stop taking Humira because my insurance company wouldn’t support the dosage my doctor wanted me on. I’ve since moved on to Remicade, so I no longer have my frequent chats with S.

Still, I think of her often. I think of how she was part of my support system and my community, and how her care and thoughtfulness made me feel like someone important instead of a burden. I think of how she took some of the pressure off of me to have a handle on everything. Instead, she would send me reminders about ordering my medication and taking it if needed.

I am grateful to S for supporting me in the start of my biologics journey. I am much more comfortable with trying out new biologics and asking questions thanks to her support.