My sister, T, was flown to Abbott Northwestern by Life Link in October. She was promptly admitted to the ICU for immediate advanced care due to kidney failure and metabolic acidosis. It has taken me a few weeks to find the words to write to you and tell you how life-changing the staff was, specifically Jason. On the darkest days and nights of our lives, he was our North Star. We will never forget Jason, or as we affectionately nicknamed him “Care Bear”, or the care he gave my sister and family.

It is difficult to find the right words to describe the true and honest compassion he had during T’s stay. He was always there to answer our questions, even as trivial as some of them may have been. If he did not know the answer, he immediately went to find someone who did. He stayed later past his shift to complete his tasks and monitor the effects of new medications when he easily could have clocked out and had the night nurses take care of it. 

He found us extra grief kits so that we could make fingerprints and other memorial things for her and even gave us a few pointers to help make sure they turned out ok.  He was right there within minutes when I asked if we could somehow get a doppler to make a recording of her heartbeat. He took the time to make sure we all were able to get the recording and understood what that meant to us.

He took extra time to find supplies and helped us wash her hair; he even did the blow drying as we were painting her nails. Never once did he act like we were inconveniencing him or act like his time was better spent elsewhere. He let us know when he would be back if he had to step out, we never had to “go looking for help”.

When we got the news that my sister was clinically brain dead, he was there to comfort us and make sure we were fully informed. Even after that moment, he still continued to care for her like a real person, always calling her by her name and explaining everything he was doing directly to her as though she could still hear him. Despite the fact that she could not respond or know what was happening, he never treated her like a lost cause and was there until the very end. 

Jason never looked at T like she was a dollar sign, she was looked at and treated like a human, a daughter, a sister, a wife. All of these things are things that no ordinary nurse would do, making Jason the most Extraordinary Nurse we have ever had the pleasure of meeting. My sister’s death has left an unimaginable hole in our hearts, but we find solace in the care she received from Jason in her final days. Care that I wish everyone would receive should they find themselves in such a position.