I just wanted to let you know about a really amazing nurse that you have. As you know, our dear patient K passed away a few days back after a really difficult battle post cord transplant. He was suffering in the ICU while his family watched and it seemed like we couldn't get through to them in regard to the severity of the situation and the extreme unlikelihood that he would survive.
Helen helped our team (especially the Fellow Kelly) talk to the family and was instrumental in helping them understand the futility of his situation and also seemed to really give them some peace eventually leading them to appropriately withdrawing care. Helen was there when the family withdrew care and provided them the comfort that they desperately needed. Helen really made the difference in allowing the family to understand his situation and allowing them the peace they needed to let him go. Helen was there to organize post-mortem care with his church and really took so much of the burden off the family during such a tough time.
I knew K probably better than anyone on the team, and I was so thankful that he had Helen watching over him. I have worked with Helen quite a bit since she started here and have come to know her as a very intelligent, compassionate and caring nurse. We were talking about her (over K's situation) the other day in the workroom and one of the other NP's said, "I would be thankful if she was taking care of one of my family members".
So, this is what your nurses do, every day, day in and day out. For every example like this, there are a hundred more that go unnoticed. Life is so precious and what an impact they make during some of the most important times. It is really amazing.