My Uncle was a patient at St. Mary's for almost a month, we spent many days in the ICU and then he was finally transferred to 4E. During our time at this hospital, we did meet many kind and loving staff members however it was one night that we met April under very sad circumstances. We received a call around 545pm saying that my uncle J took a turn for the worse and they were doing comfort measures on him and that he would probably not make it through the night. All of his brothers/sisters and nieces and nephews live about 2.5 hours away and were very shocked by this news as we thought he was really doing better. None of us could think straight but we were so heartbroken that we could not be by his bedside while he left this world or even get the chance to say goodbye to him. April was his nurse that evening. She was very soft-spoken and calming when speaking with us on the phone. We requested that Elvis be put on in the room as he loved Elvis and the thought of him being alone was breaking our hearts. She quickly put it on using her phone. Next, we had a very difficult request and April made it seem like it was nothing at all for her. The family wanted to call in and say goodbye-one by one (he has 8 brothers and sisters and many nieces and nephews). We called into April's phone and she put the phone up to my uncle's ear so that they could all say their final goodbyes. Never once did she seemed annoyed that she had all these phone calls coming in or never once did she tell us that he was not responsive and wouldn't be able to hear. That night she gave my family peace that they were able to whisper in his ear that they loved him and a final goodbye.
I am a nurse and I know that when you have a patient who is going to die plus other patients whom you are caring for that you are crazy busy, but April never made anyone feel rushed and she made us all feel like she was a caring person in the room with my uncle when he passed. I have been a nurse for 15 years and have worked in a few different fields and I have never met a nurse so loving and compassionate. Not only did she care for my uncle that night she cared for his entire family, but she was also with my uncle when he took his last breath and she gave the gift of peace to his family. We cannot possibly thank April enough for caring for us and for Uncle J, she was our angel on earth during this difficult and very sad time.
Nurses often go unrecognized for the care that we give but this was more than just standard of care, this is a person who is passionate about her job and about the lives and the families that she cares for. From the bottom of our family's heart, we thank you for that care.