I am the daughter of a former patient. My father passed away at DCH and he spent the majority of the last 2 months of his life at DCH. He started out on the 6th floor, he was released and came back to ICU and was later transferred to the south wing of the 2nd floor, where he spent his final days.
Nurse Cheryl Small, RN was one of the nurses who cared for my Dad. Cheryl just went above and beyond spending time with our family, answering questions, and even consoling us in such an emotional time. One day, I spent the night at the hospital with my Dad and that was my first time meeting Nurse Cheryl. She greeted me with a smile and a very outgoing personality. As I watched her care for my Dad, giving him medicine, change his bed pad, etc. I became very very emotional and began to cry. I walked into the bathroom because I didn't want my Dad to see me crying, I didn't want him worrying about me when he was the one in such a critical condition. After Nurse Cheryl finished doing what she had to do with my Dad, she called me into the hallway and the first thing she did was smile and wrap her arms around me and she gave me the sweetest hug ever. It was what I needed the absolute most at that moment! It didn't matter that I was younger and she was older, it didn't matter that I was black and she was white, what mattered is that I needed someone to comfort me and that's what she did. She stood there and talked to me, she reassured me that I will be okay and that my Daddy would be okay. Nurse Cheryl even told me about her Dad passing and how hard it was for her dealing with the loss, and how she had to be strong because that was what he would have wanted for her. Nurse Cheryl tried to verbally prepare me for the worst-case scenario in such a short time frame. But she as well, assured me that if he were to pass away, that God has everything under control and he makes no mistakes.
The next day, Nurse Cheryl returned to work for her shift and again, she provided so much comfort to our family during her shift. I know she had a busy schedule, but she made time to sit in with our family and tell us the truth about my Dad's physical/health condition. Even though it was the hardest thing to do, sitting there and listen to her say my Dad was pretty much at the end of his life. She answered every question we had, and she explained every single thing down to the fine print detail and all at the same time, she was so comforting while doing it and made everything so easy to understand. She thought she made me upset by some of the things she said while explaining his situation, and she pulled me to the side and apologized if she hurt my feelings. Honestly, she didn't hurt my feelings; I was just hurting because the truth of the matter was that my Dad was transitioning to go be in the presence of the Lord. Once again, she embraced me with the sweetest of hugs and stood there and held me, and comforted me. I told her that she was an angel, Heaven sent. She smiled with acceptance and said, "no, I'm just a nurse!"
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Cheryl Small personified extraordinary compassionate care for my Dad as well as his family. I was excited about seeing her again, so before she left work from her shift, I asked would she be back on Monday night and I told her that I would see her then because I would be back with my Dad. But unfortunately, he passed that Monday morning.
I only wish I could come to celebrate and personally give her the certificate, pin, and sculpture just to show her how much of an impact she was on me accepting his Heavenly transition. I know my Dad would be pleased with the concern and comfort she provided to his baby girl (me) as well as the rest of the family that was present during such a devastating time.
I am enclosing a copy of his obituary for Mrs. Cheryl Small and everyone else that cared for him to see. Thank you ALL again for caring for my Dad