April 2023
Diane
Carpenter
,
RN
GSU
Bronson Methodist Hospital
Kalamazoo
,
MI
United States

 

 

 

Diane showed so much love and grace to my family as we were going through such a difficult time.
Diane truly knows what it means to care for not just the patient, but the family. Diane was the nurse who took care of my grandpa during his final day here on earth. From the start, she was incredible. She allowed me and some other family members to come up to see my grandpa a little before visiting hours as she knew that we may only have had hours left with him. She showed so much compassion to my grieving family throughout the entire day, always checking in to see if anyone needed water, coffee, etc. She helped rearrange the room in order to make it so my grandma could sit in the comfiest chair right up next to my grandpa. She was constantly bringing in more chairs so that every family member had a place to sit.

Being a nurse myself and having come straight from a 12-hour shift with no sleep, Diane even offered to get me a blanket and pillow in case I wanted to try to get some rest. She was so thoughtful even just with the little things. Diane showed so much love and grace to my family as we were going through such a difficult time. When my grandfather finally ended up passing, Diane came in and hugged my grandma as my grandma was beyond heartbroken after losing the love of her life for the past 64 years. She showed so much love and sympathy toward my family and allowed us to stay as long as we wanted after Grandpa’s passing.

Diane took excellent care of my grandpa. She was always on top of keeping him comfortable and out of pain the best she could. One of my personal biggest blessings of having Diane as my grandfather’s nurse was that she recognized that I was a nurse with Bronson myself, and allowed me to be active in caring for my grandpa when it came to things such as making sure he was positioned comfortably, had enough blankets to keep him warm, etc. Caring for my grandpa during his last hours is a memory that will forever be special to me and I thank Diane for allowing me to share that time with grandpa and create that special memory.

Caring for someone who is dying is not easy, but Diane did such an amazing job in taking incredible care of my grandpa and tending to the needs of my family in the most compassionate, kind, and loving way. My family and I will forever be thankful for Diane and the wonderful nurse that she is.