Erin Byrne, RN

Erin took care of my dad in the ICU after surgery for a femur fracture. He had an underlying C. diff infection that caused sepsis. We had to make the hard decision to transition my dad to end-of-life care. My dad was on a medication (Levophed) that could only be administered in the ICU. Three of us children were out of state, so they kept him in the ICU and the medication in place until we all arrived. And they allowed more than 2 visitors in his room due to the circumstances.
Erin cared for my dad and all of us (up to 9 family members) with incredible grace, kindness, and care. She brought in 2 big baskets of snacks/drinks, treated each of us with kindness and compassion (even when we forgot and walked into the hallway with our gown and gloves on), and handled "another nurse in the room" (my sister-in-law) with grace. They were going to stop the Levophed on Saturday, but one of my brothers was delayed in arriving, so she relayed this to his doctor in the ICU, and he OK'd waiting until Sunday. On Sunday, she checked on my dad and us multiple times, offering care and compassion, and listened to us tell stories together. Each of my dad's 17 grandchildren (mostly adults) was able to be present or do video calls. Erin asked us several times, "Is there anyone else that would like to talk to him?" and then gave space for us 4 children to explain the situation to my dad and have the incredibly hard conversation that they would need to stop the medication that was keeping him alive. When we were ready, she explained all the changes that might rapidly take place and offered to play his favorite song. We had other nurses care for my dad, and each one was excellent, but Erin really went above and beyond in the way that she cared for my dad in his last days on earth, but also how she cared for each one of us as we grieved, laughed, cried, and told many stories. My dad was able to interact and enjoyed Erin caring for him and learning a little bit about his life. She shared about her life as we asked questions, and it was nice to feel a small personal connection with her in such a hard time. Erin was a big part of making an incredibly hard time both beautiful and meaningful.