I recently met Holly in a situation I never wanted to be a part of. Holly was the nurse for my sister who unfortunately had a late term miscarriage at 23 weeks. While my sister had many amazing nurses, doctors, and support staff at Maine Medical Center, Holly stood out among everyone. She came in at the beginning of her shift and introduced herself with the doctors. She then asked my sister if she could sit on her bed. When she did, she looked at my sister, touched her leg, and said, “Hi, I’m Holly, and I’m going to be your nurse today. I’m so sorry.” By doing that, she allowed space for sadness and the terrible reality. No nervous laughter or chatter, no glossing over with cliché quotes and telling her everything would be okay. She acknowledged the suck and by doing that made space for my sister to grieve openly and feel safe doing so.

She explained that my sister, the patient, was in control of everything that happened to her that day, that every decision she made was the right decision, and that Holly’s job was to support her through all of them. My sister and her husband had to make terrible decision after terrible decision and each time Holly reminded her that the decision she made was okay and she was going to help make it happen. She was attentive, responsive, kind, and loving. She did not sugarcoat anything and pretend everything would be okay.

She took care of my brother-in-law and me as support for my sister, making sure we had eaten, were hydrated, and comfortable. I brought something outside the room to give Holly to take care of for my sister and she asked how I was. In that moment I broke down crying (unexpectedly to me) in the middle of the nurses' station. She was in the middle of doing something else but just stopped everything and focused on me and was so caring and empathetic. She hugged me and listened. 

When you find yourself as a patient and family in a situation you have no control over and also so incredibly painful, having people like Holly to navigate for you while advocating for your comfort, rights, and privacy makes a world of difference. She is a nurse’s nurse. She is why people become nurses. To have strength in times when patients and family do not. To love and care when it is needed the most. For that day, she put on her badge and scrubs and made her patient and their loved ones feel like they are the only ones who matter. Being a nurse is hard as I am one, too. It is mentally and physically exhausting, but it’s also part of who you are and Holly exemplifies this. She is amazing and an angel on Earth. 

Thank you so much, Holly, for all you did for our family. We wish it was under different circumstances but you made a huge impact on us and for that, we are so grateful, and we will never forget it.