Colleen Brittain
September 2022
Colleen
Brittain
,
RN
Emergency Department
UNC Health Blue Ridge
Morganton
,
NC
United States

 

 

 

Colleen was worried that the patient may decline further any minute and his family may miss the opportunity to see him one last time, she asked if he wanted to take a video on his phone for his daughter.
The patient presented to the emergency department with chest pain and a history of an extensive aortic dissection repair 7 or 8 years prior. While caring for the patient, this nurse developed a rapport with the patient while quickly recognizing the seriousness of the situation. The scans came back with the devastating news that his aorta was leaking, and his chance of survival was very low. The patient had a young daughter whom he wanted to see prior to being transferred out. While the team worked on arranging a helicopter and accepting the surgeon, the nurse (along with the supervisor and provider) helped the patient to make phone calls and arrange for his daughter to be brought to the Emergency Department. As the nurse worried that the patient may decline further any minute and his family may miss the opportunity to see him one last time, she asked if he wanted to take a video on his phone for his daughter. The nurse and supervisor helped him take the video. The daughter did arrive in time to see her dad before he was loaded onto the helicopter. Later, we received a call that he had passed away in surgery, but thanks to the nurse and her team’s efforts the patient was able to say goodbye to his family and leave a priceless gift through video to his daughter for her to have for the rest of her life.