At UofL Hospital, we are constantly doing great things for our patients, but there are some instances in which staff go above and beyond that everyone should know! The story of a young Gun Shot Wound (GSW) patient is one of those circumstances. This patient came into our trauma room in the Emergency Department with a GSW to the head on a rainy Sunday afternoon. He had just left the hospital after visiting his twins in the Neonatal ICU (NICU). The GSW patient was later found to be a victim in a case of mistaken identity, and it was apparent early in the process that the patient's brain injury was catastrophic. I was with his grandparents (who raised him since he was 4 years old), his significant other, and his family when they first heard this horrific news.
I called the NICU charge RN to inform her that the family was discussing wanting to see his twin babies and that things were understandably quite hectic. Her response was the beginning of a scenario that I will never forget. She was on the verge of tears, stating that the patient had just told her of how he was "going to be there for his babies", that he was starting a new job and how he was going to be a presence in their lives. The NICU charge nurse stated that he visited every day and was quite admired by the staff for his gentle ways. The patient ended up on 9W where he and his loved ones received excellent care with that extra attention that will carry on for years to come which started with working with the NICU staff to bring imprints of the babies' feet to hang over his bed. When the 9W staff noticed that the babies' mother was not eating well, the NICU staff stepped up again by checking in on the mother and offering her education and support. To shine a light on their resiliency, it is important to note that the 9W staff had just experienced a different tragedy with another family that resulted from a car accident with a fatality earlier that day. That day the unit had just re-opened after being closed for low census, and Kim Wilson, the Manager, came to help open the unit and ended up staying all day to support the staff. The resiliency of the staff, attention to detail, and teamwork of these specific 9W staff members were remarkable; Shannon RN, Mary CRN, and Savannah RN.
After the GSW patient was pronounced brain dead, the NICU staff came to the bedside to take photos of the babies placed in his hands per the request of the mother of the twins. Somewhere along the process, the grandmother of the patient was not made aware. Her spouse was informed but failed to tell her in all his grief. She went into the room and took the only control she had in the situation and demanded the process be stopped. It was an uncomfortable situation between multiple family members that had a great potential of escalating far beyond what it did. Kim Wilson, the manager, took control of the situation as only Kim can. She took sole responsibility as the manager of the unit for the grandmother not being informed of the picture. She pleaded with the grandmother speaking to her "mother to mother" about how treasured this picture will be when the twins grow up. With tears in her eyes, Kim was able to bring the grandmother to a place of understanding. The picture was not only taken but used in the funeral program which Kim Wilson attended, giving the grandmother a teddy bear complete with the sound of his heartbeat that she personally bought.
There are so many disciplines that were involved with these heart-breaking events. It would be impossible to name them all. Kim Wilson stands out among them as a strong leader, an amazing team member, and a beautiful human being. At the same time, it is not to go unnoticed that so many staff members from so many disciplines came together to try to make such tragic life events somewhat tolerable.