This past weekend my mothers-in-law's sister was transferred to MICU bed from St. Vincent's Blount. She was septic and declined very fast. Her nurse was Amber Kuykendall and she cared for her until she was removed from life support and passed. In my 18 years as a CT tech at this hospital, I have never been more moved by the amount of love, understanding, and compassion shown by a caregiver/nurse, not only to the patient but to the entire family. It's really hard to put it into words but I feel Amber is the perfect example of what our healthcare professionals should strive to be. She was a nurse to the entire family and made what was the saddest day in my in-laws' life more bearable.
Amber was a source of comfort for my mother-in-law and reassurance that my mother-in-law desperately needed when deciding to let her sister go. She cried with the family and shared her faith with the family and also shared some of her sister's last words spoken to her while she was coherent which served as comfort for the family. We can never thank her enough for everything she did for us that day. Amber freely gives of herself to her patients and their families. She is an asset and blessing to that unit and to the field of nursing and we should all pray that we can follow her example and be that light for our patients and families in the face of darkness and she was "that light'' for our family.