Holly
Hajny
July 2014
Holly
Hajny
,
RN
Nursing Services - Float Team
Bellin Health
Green Bay
,
WI
United States

 

 

 

I honestly think Holly was sent to our family from a higher being.

My father had been a patient at Bellin throughout the last 4-5 years-more so the last couple. He had heart issues. A few years back he suffered a heart attack and spent sometime at Bellin. That is how he met Holly. She was a nurse who took care of him. They instantly hit it off. My dad was a depressed man after losing his wife almost 7 years ago. Somehow they got to talking when she was taking care of him and they started a most unique friendship.

Throughout the years and many stays at Bellin he would always seem to run into Holly-whether she was working or I called her and told her about dad. Where ever she was working when he was in-she would always locate him and come visit. When he went home they would keep in touch by phone and birthday/Christmas cards. He thought very highly of her. I feel she made him comfortable and less afraid of what he faced sometimes in the hospital just by her caring nature.

This last July my dad was hospitalized with an infection that in over a month would take his life. He spent a few weeks in your rehab facility where he had Holly as his nurse a few shifts. He didn't want to be there and one day Holly sat down with him and talked to him and explained what he would be facing while there. She had a way of getting through to him when his family couldn't. I think she put him at ease with her gentle nature and kindness.

August 4th we made the decision to put him in hospice and stop his medications and treatments-the infection had taken over and his body was shutting down. Every step in his last few weeks of life Holly was there-whether as a nurse on duty or a person there for a friend. She would check on him-on duty and off duty. One night she even stayed with him overnight so my siblings and I could go home and get some rest. My dad was so grateful and touched that she would do that for him-and-us-his family. She was there with us throughout the week giving us support and comfort. The day we said our goodbyes to him Holly was there with us. He took Holly's hand and thanked her for all she had done for him-as a nurse and friend-and told her that she was forever a part of our family.

The bond between Holly and my dad was unique and impacted us-I think-for the better and it showed what being a nurse is truly all about.

You should feel honored-as our family is-to have such a caring, nurturing, wonderful person in your employment. Holly truly made a difference in someone's life, an old man, my father. The way she impacted my dad's life has forever left an impression on our family and on me.

Words cannot express how extremely grateful we are to Holly for all she had done for our father and this family and to Bellin Hospital for all the great care given to my dad throughout the years.

In our family's eyes, and in my fathers, Holly is more than a nurse just doing her job-she is a truly unique person whose love for the people she cares for truly reflects in her spirit and nurturing way.