Britni walked into a unique situation yesterday. She was assigned a patient who was actively dying with his pregnant daughter, who was due the day before, sitting at his bedside. The family had hoped that he would make it to see the baby but that morning the possibility of that happening was gone. It was evident that he was not going to make it. Britni gently and compassionately shared with the daughter the fact that her father was not going to be with us much longer. The daughter was conflicted, “What should she do?” she asked Britni. “Should she be induced so that her father might be able to see the baby?” Empathetically, Britni told her that it wasn’t likely to be helpful now.
Britni attended to the patient’s pain and called for the chaplain to provide support for the grieving family. She was worried about the daughter and so asked for help contacting someone from Maternity to come and speak to the daughter. While Britni was in the room, the daughter asked her to perform a special task. Gracefully, Britni told her she would. Britni came out and spoke to us about what had just transpired. The daughter had developed a trust with Britni in that short amount of time so she was comfortable asking her to take the results of her ultrasound which had been sealed in an envelope, open it, and relay the sex of the baby to her father while he was still alive. The daughter wanted him to know, before he died, whether or not he was having a grandson or granddaughter. She didn’t want anyone else to know so she asked that Britni perform this without anyone else in earshot of the conversation.
Britni brought the envelope into the office, opened it, read it, then sealed the envelope back. She took a deep breath and went into the room. We guided the daughter out into the hallway, while Britni went in to her dying father to tell him that he was going to have a grandson. He squeezed Britni’s hand as she told him and moaned. The only response she got that ensured her the message had been heard. Britni then came out and shared the response with the daughter.
It is amazing how nurses are able to take a horrible situation and turn it into a precious, life giving moment. Britni did not back off or minimize the daughter’s wishes. She recognized the need and compassionately and with love, ensured that the task was completed. Britni was able to go through the rest of her day with pride in knowing that she had made a difference in the life of her dying patient, his daughter and his unborn grandson.