Jene Reinhardt took phenomenal care of my mom, dad, and me during the last days of my mom's life - she may have truly missed her calling as a hospice nurse. She was consistently so sweet and gentle with my mom, and never made Dad or me feel like we were a bother, or like any question we had was silly or stupid. 

By the time we got to Jene, we had been through the wringer and were both mentally tapped. End of life care must be truly exhausting for nurses, but Jene never made it seem anything other than an absolute honor, while still maintaining great care and empathy for me and Dad while we said goodbye to the greatest gift either of us had ever received. I truly believe Mom knew and appreciated Jene as well, even though she was pretty well out of sorts by the time Jene became our nurse. 

We thought she would pass one day, and when she held on until the next day, after Jene went on days off (after 3 days of caring for our family so sweetly), Dad told me, "I really thought your mom would go yesterday." At that moment, I realized why she'd waited, and I told him, "I don't think she wanted to do that to Jene. She knew she was going to have to leave you and me regardless, but I don't think she wanted Jene to ever doubt herself and how she had cared for Mom or feel like there had ever been anything she could have done differently to better care for her."

Jene, you are a truly phenomenal human being, and like Dad and I told you in the hospital, it is absolutely no wonder you have received a DAISY nomination previously. I am so sorry it has taken me so long to submit this nomination, I wanted to be as clear-headed as I could when I was writing it, and even so, I'm still crying.

You were so wonderful to our family, and we will never forget how you cared for all three of us during those last days. Thank you, from the bottom of our broken hearts.