My mom spent in total about 200 days in a hospital or facility during 2021 in both Delaware and Pennsylvania due to a failing liver and all the complications that follow. To say we have interacted with a good amount of healthcare workers have it be nurses, techs, escorts, providers, Respiratory therapists, physical and occupational therapists, is putting it lightly. With the hospital becoming our second home we had began to sadly feel comfortable there and turned into that family that seemed like they never left the bedside; the more we learned and entailed we learned to ask tons of questions, to become a little pushy, and learned a lot of what we as family and my mom as the patient needed and wanted from our caregivers.

As last year progressed, my mother's health continued to get worst and worst until finally while inpatient she coded twice and that bought her a one-way ticket to the ICU. Honestly from the moment she entered those doors even though we were scared, nervous, and in the back of our minds thought what we had been dreading all year might be starting to happen, we also felt a sense of peace. Every caregiver we met from the RRT team, code team, and everyone in the ICU had such an amazing ability to pass along horrible news while still keeping us calm and at the same time not only giving my mom the best care I had seen but also despite her not being able to respond, they treated her with such care and compression assuring to always telling her what they would be doing and talking her through the care or treatment being provided. They really just treated her like a human being and I can’t thank everyone enough for the sense of comfort that gave us as we had to leave her.

On the morning of the second day of mom's ICU stay, we got the call no family wants, that she isn’t really responding as well to treatment as we would hope, and the long talk of pros and cons to continue care vs moving to comfort care. That morning we decided to move forward to allow my mom to have the best and most dignified death experience we thought we could give her after the hell of the year she had just endured. Luckily on that morning, Brittany was assigned as my mom's nurse.

Brittany worked with the care team to the best of their ability to keep my mom alive until we made it to the hospital. She then worked with my family to assure my father, myself, my two brothers, and my mom's 6 siblings all had their chances to say their goodbyes. After that was done she worked with us to set up a plan of our wishes of how to make my mom as comfortable as she could be as she passed. Brittany explained everything and somehow always knew when we needed her in the room and when we needed our space. As a nurse myself I know every time I help a family as a loved one passes I, have a hard time knowing what is being present enough and when it is too much.

Brittany, we really can’t thank you enough for knowing that exact balance. During the most horrible day of our lives, you gave us peace, understanding, guidance, and support. You allowed us to give my mom the death experience she deserved. We were sad to see that you had to leave prior to the time she actually passed but all the work, care, and education you did leading up to your shift ending allowed all of our goals to be met. With covid and even just working in the ICU setting, I know death is sadly something that you guys deal with a lot. I just wanted to assure you that you know everything you did was not unnoticed or not appreciated.

Nurses many times are thanked and they will say it was really nothing or I was just doing my job, but by you doing that you have left a huge impact on my family's life and the memories we have of my mother's final moments. We can never thank you enough for everything you did.  I really hope you know what a great deal of difference you make in the lives of the people and families that are lucky enough to get you as their nurse. Thank you, Brittany!