I would like to thank your nurse Ellen, who happened to see Mom for the first-time last Wednesday, on Mom’s 90th birthday, while I was up from Chicago visiting. While I had noticed mom had declined considerably since I last saw her in Long Term Care in mid-March, Ellen immediately uncovered a number of issues and started working on them. When she discovered mom’s circulation was causing discoloration and swelling in mom’s feet, she first told me mom had to go to the ER, but mom became extremely distraught at the idea, especially since it was her birthday, and Ellen said she would try everything to avoid it.

A 45-minute routine visit turned into almost a five-hour “intervention” with Ellen physically stimulating mom’s feet until they were better, ordering replacement oxygen components, and completely sorting out mom's meds. She even discovered mom was using a nebulizer improperly and got that corrected. Ellen had her school-aged kids calling about rides home from school, and other personal commitments, but stayed and stayed and stayed trying to get mom back into shape to avoid the ER.

Ellen was successful! Mom bounced back well enough to blow out the candles on a cake and enjoy a very special evening with me and the visit was a catalyst for a meeting between me, Mom, and several Ascension at Home reps the following day that set into motion some important changes going forward.

We consider Ellen to be Mom’s real birthday “gift” and want her amazing compassion and professionalism to be recognized. This was healthcare and humanity at its best, and a very special moment for us during a challenging time.  It’s an honor to have met her, and testimony to the amazing services Ascension at Home has provided our family for almost eight years now, first with Dad and now with Mom.