We had a 59 year old patient that was hospitalized from October to January. This gentleman had a terrible lung disease and was hoping to eventually get to St. Louis for a lung transplant. Unfortunately, this man was never medically stable enough to go to St. Louis. He was on the ventilator, but for the most part was still oriented and alert. He had made a decision at the end of December that he was going to fight for two more weeks and then after that, make some end of life decisions.

On Thursday, January 5th, the temperature was in the 60’s. Dana wanted to take Rob outside so that he could enjoy the sunny weather and get outside of the hospital for the first time in over 2 months. She got permission from the physicians and enlisted the help of a 5 person team to get him outside; understanding that he was bed ridden, on the ventilator and had numerous IV’s. Rob enjoyed the sunshine, and with his eyes closed, just smiled. He told her that he was no longer going to wait the 2 weeks, he was ready NOW. He was taken back to his room and later informed his family that he was ready to let go. He had come to terms with the fact that he was not going to get better, and he was ready to die. The next day, he was made comfort cares, taken off the ventilator and died about a ½ hour later.



This seemingly small task of going outside and seeing the sunshine allowed this man to be at peace. Dana’s dedication to her patients shows through every day, but on this particular day, she helped make it possible for Rob to see things in a different light. She and her co-workers also helped the family to accept this decision, as difficult as it was. She is the true definition of a DAISY Nurse.