Colleen
Hurley
January 2012
Colleen
Hurley
,
RN
NICU
Penn Medicine Chester County Hospital
West Chester
,
PA
United States

 

 

 

Colleen volunteered to attend a c/s delivery for a peer, who was busy with another patient. The delivery proceeded as expected, but the infant deteriorated rapidly. The NICU team worked very hard to resuscitate this infant, but unfortunately the infant did not survive. As the letter from this mother to Colleen states

"… How very grateful I am for everything you have done for us. I am pretty sure it is not in your required job description. I was surprised when you called (after the memorial service), I did not expect that. Most people don't get to talk to or be treated with such kindness by the person who was with their baby during his final breaths. Knowing that you were with him does not make me miss him less, but I am so comforted in knowing he was so cared for and in good hands. I think people should know how special they are to others. How much kindness to someone they barely know can cause such an impact."

Colleen sat with this family while they heard about autopsy results, and has maintained phone contact, allowing this mother to express her grief to someone who knew her son.