To all the nurses who worked with J while he was in Harlan ARI-I ICU,

Derek and Tracy- When we were summoned into the ICU to see something my heart dropped. Derek you reassured us that everything was okay. When I got to J and saw a clean-shaven face, and you told me that he told you and Tracey to take it all off, I was flabbergasted. I had never seen him without his mustache in the 37 years that we were together. When he looked in the mirror and saw himself, the look on his face was priceless. Derek, I can never repay you for everything that you did for J, you are truly a remarkable nurse. Anthony-you catered to J's every need. Being there and looking out for him and listening to his many stories time and time again. I thank you for having a listening ear and being so good to him.
 
Derek, Tracy, and Anthony, thanks for talking man-to-man with him on many issues and occasions. He sure respected you all for that and loved to joke around with you all. He looked forward to it. It made his time in the ICU bearable. 

Whitney- Thank you for giving us a somewhat "normal" Christmas with the decorations. J loved them, as well as the rest of us. You made it special for the kids when they got to open the gifts that Papaw had gotten them. He loved his babies and would give them the moon if he could have. I cried like a baby when I saw the decorations and knew that you took time out of your time to do that. Thanks for letting us feel a little Christmassy, not knowing that it was going to be his last. Thank you for being so thoughtful and going out of your way. If anyone else was involved, please thank them also. Also thank you for being so good to him and caring for him like you did. 

Charley, you are so thoughtful, loving, and caring. You always made sure to ask if we needed anything and if Johnny needed anything, and you were always willing to help us in anyway. You offered to do whatever we needed. Johnny saw that caring side that you expelled and had a deep respect for you for that. Thank you for the care that you gave him.
 
Kellie, talking to J took him back a few years. LOL. He enjoyed talking to you and reminiscing about the times that you were at the house for just a few hours or overnight. He never forgot and loved the memories that you brought to the surface. You were so attentive to him and cared for him, doing whatever you could. He loved you greatly. Thank you.

Amanda, you have a bubbly personality and beautiful smile that always brightened J's day. It made him feel better and not being so down while he was lying in the ICU bed with nothing to do but pester you nurses. Please always stay that way. More nurses need to have the qualities that you do. 

Bridget, you are the bomb! If J had any authority with admin., you would be promoted to supervisor; he would have made sure of that. He noticed what a good nurse you are, and we thank you for being so good to him and taking care of him.
 
Rachel- When you opened the door to the waiting room for us to come back the night that J had coded, my world fell apart. Thank you for coming to get us, and let us be with him, even if from afar. Thank you also for updating us before you left to go home after your shift was over. We knew you had to have been tired and wanted to go home, but you always came out and let us know what was going on and what to expect. Not many think that is important, but to us, it gave us hope instead of having to wait so long before we got to see him again or the doctors come around.
 
Amanda Brewer-Girl, what can I say? You are an exceptional nurse. J loved you like you were his own and I know that you cared for him also. He always wanted to know if and when you were working. If you were off, he would say, "Good, she needs a day off, I hope C takes her somewhere, and I hope that she gets some rest." You treated him so well and told him exactly how it was in a way that he respected. You could get him to do things that I could not and talked to him like he was a real person, not just a sick old man. He looked forward to his days of you being his nurse. You and he just clicked for some reason and he was very comfortable with you. You kept us informed and updated on everything that was going on with him and seemed to never tire of our many questions. You stayed on top of all his meds and contacted any of the doctors if we asked or when you felt the need to. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the love and care that you gave J. You have a special place in our hearts. 

Derek, Rachel, and whoever else that was working the night that J coded, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Derek, seeing you on your knees, up on the bed with J, doing CPR on him scared the life out of me. If you all had not kept working with J that night for as long as you all did, we would not have had that extra precious time with him that we did. It gave us precious time for things that needed to be said, things that needed to be done and videos made, I can't thank you all enough for that. Life is short. Amanda B., Kellie, Derek, and Whitney. I knew that you all would make something of your lives because of the great students you were in class. J got a kick out of the four of you taking care of him, knowing that I had you in my classroom. He said I must have done my job right. LOL. We thank you all deeply for all the love and care that you bestowed upon J while he was in your care. As I said before, you all are exceptional nurses. Thank you all for letting us linger a little longer than what was allowed and for letting us take a quick nighttime peek. Those were special times, especially at night when I could pull up a chair, sit by his bed and just hold his hand when it was just him and me. We would whisper when he could, I would scratch the back of his head and he would just close his eyes, just enjoying it. We were together for 37 years and had a love like no other, and the hurt that I feel today in my heart is a hurt like no other. Again thank you all for everything from the depths of our hearts, you all are so special. Every patient should have nurses like all of you all.