Brenda Pinkney
August 2020
Brenda
Pinkney
,
RN
ICU
Northwest Health - Porter (formerly Porter Regional Hospital)
I started crying, singing You Are My Sunshine and he responded to me by moving his arms and shook his head. I was crying so hard and Brenda helped me finish the song he always sang to me after adopting me.
My dad was waiting for a knee replacement but because of COVID, it kept getting pushed back. On a Sunday he fell in the shower and broke the ball of his hip and femur. They took him by ambulance and surgery was the next morning. That's the last time I saw my best buddy in person and telling him I loved him. Mom couldn't even follow the ambulance. They said my mom couldn't be with him, but after begging nurses she was allowed to tell him goodbye before surgery. Well, they came and told mom they were rushing him to ICU after surgery with complications. She came home in shock and they thought he had COVID.
I ran up to Porter and waited outside to talk to anybody for answers about what happened. Well, I had the pleasure of meeting Brenda the head ICU Nurse who was getting off a long shift as I stood outside. She was caring for my father and got the doctor on phone to explain to my mom what was going on. He ended up having a fatty embolism with a high mortality rate. It causes the organs to shut down. I asked if I could please see my father!? Well, that was a no. I asked if I could FaceTime him and she said let me see what I can do. Brenda suited back up and she called FaceTime. It was a god-awful sight, seeing him hooked to many machines. I started crying, singing You Are My Sunshine and he responded to me by moving his arms and shook his head. I was crying so hard and she helped me finish the song he always sang to me after adopting me. I would go to the parking lot and just pray for him.
He coded in the days following and they allowed my mom a 10 min visit to say goodbye but the doctor wanted to try one more thing because she said she was a doctor of faith. I headed back to the hospital to pray harder for a miracle and his nurse Jeremy guided me to his window and we talked he explained my dad was right next to him, but they decided there was nothing more they could do. So, they were disconnecting everything and making him as comfortable as possible. As we talked through the window on the phone and he allowed me to talk and tell my dad goodbye over the phone, and my sister in law his granddaughter, and his niece. He said he would flash on and off the light after he passed and at 11:06 pm those lights flashed and they flashed again and then completely off. I can't tell you how much peace that gave me. He called to say he went very peacefully.
My family and friends were feeding the ICU crew. Pestos was amazing and delivered with a big discount. All those nurses were our angels in blue and worked so hard to try to save him. They called and let me FaceTime him daily using personal phones. Brenda was so generous and kind to get a hold of the doctor to explain what was happening with my mom on speaker. And to go suit back up after her long shift so I could see him and sing our song is something I will never ever forget.
Jeremy was phenomenal to go the extra mile and give us such peace of mind. I begged them to let my mom be with him when he passed away so did Jeremy, but they said no, so that's the closest we could get to him is steps outside his ICU room in the parking lot. They showed me many machines he was hooked to and explained how everything worked. They work so hard with so much compassion and faith. They even sent me a copy of his heartbeat on paper.
I sat outside in the dark watching all these ICU nurses working so hard, suited up from head to toe, on all the patients. It was incredible. Mom had me call the hospital after he passed and he ended up being COVID negative but the command center said all the nurses were crying after he passed looking at us outside his window. Even the CEO was talking about it. I think they need special recognition for the wonderful job they did and being so generous to use their own phones so I could talk to dad to let him know we were there but not there physically. I would love to hug these guys after the epidemic. Thank you for listening to our story of people dying alone but these nurses became his family and ours. My dad had a heart of gold and showed so much love to over 400 children and he was blessed in return with angels in his time of need. He wasn't allowed to have the funeral he deserved because of COVID restrictions. But we made the best of it with the military and bagpiper.
I ran up to Porter and waited outside to talk to anybody for answers about what happened. Well, I had the pleasure of meeting Brenda the head ICU Nurse who was getting off a long shift as I stood outside. She was caring for my father and got the doctor on phone to explain to my mom what was going on. He ended up having a fatty embolism with a high mortality rate. It causes the organs to shut down. I asked if I could please see my father!? Well, that was a no. I asked if I could FaceTime him and she said let me see what I can do. Brenda suited back up and she called FaceTime. It was a god-awful sight, seeing him hooked to many machines. I started crying, singing You Are My Sunshine and he responded to me by moving his arms and shook his head. I was crying so hard and she helped me finish the song he always sang to me after adopting me. I would go to the parking lot and just pray for him.
He coded in the days following and they allowed my mom a 10 min visit to say goodbye but the doctor wanted to try one more thing because she said she was a doctor of faith. I headed back to the hospital to pray harder for a miracle and his nurse Jeremy guided me to his window and we talked he explained my dad was right next to him, but they decided there was nothing more they could do. So, they were disconnecting everything and making him as comfortable as possible. As we talked through the window on the phone and he allowed me to talk and tell my dad goodbye over the phone, and my sister in law his granddaughter, and his niece. He said he would flash on and off the light after he passed and at 11:06 pm those lights flashed and they flashed again and then completely off. I can't tell you how much peace that gave me. He called to say he went very peacefully.
My family and friends were feeding the ICU crew. Pestos was amazing and delivered with a big discount. All those nurses were our angels in blue and worked so hard to try to save him. They called and let me FaceTime him daily using personal phones. Brenda was so generous and kind to get a hold of the doctor to explain what was happening with my mom on speaker. And to go suit back up after her long shift so I could see him and sing our song is something I will never ever forget.
Jeremy was phenomenal to go the extra mile and give us such peace of mind. I begged them to let my mom be with him when he passed away so did Jeremy, but they said no, so that's the closest we could get to him is steps outside his ICU room in the parking lot. They showed me many machines he was hooked to and explained how everything worked. They work so hard with so much compassion and faith. They even sent me a copy of his heartbeat on paper.
I sat outside in the dark watching all these ICU nurses working so hard, suited up from head to toe, on all the patients. It was incredible. Mom had me call the hospital after he passed and he ended up being COVID negative but the command center said all the nurses were crying after he passed looking at us outside his window. Even the CEO was talking about it. I think they need special recognition for the wonderful job they did and being so generous to use their own phones so I could talk to dad to let him know we were there but not there physically. I would love to hug these guys after the epidemic. Thank you for listening to our story of people dying alone but these nurses became his family and ours. My dad had a heart of gold and showed so much love to over 400 children and he was blessed in return with angels in his time of need. He wasn't allowed to have the funeral he deserved because of COVID restrictions. But we made the best of it with the military and bagpiper.