My husband, C, was a patient of Dr. F. He was diagnosed with colon cancer and passed away a couple of months ago. His passing has been very difficult for us, especially with the coming holidays.
We first met Jessica at North Kansas City Hospital where we found out that C's cancer was back and spread. Jessica was his night nurse and she always had a smile on her face. She always checked on us and made sure C was comfortable.
As his anxiety and mood got worse, Jessica only got more patient and supportive. Honestly, she probably was there more for me than anything. C needed surgery for an ostomy and that made us very anxious. Even though she wasn't our nurse right after surgery, Jessica checked in with us every shift she was there.
Shortly after getting discharged, C had a follow-up with Dr. F. To our surprise, Jessica was there! She informed us she was now Dr. F's nurse. We were very happy to know she would continue to care for C.
About a month later C ended up in the hospital with fluid buildup. I called Jessica to inform her and she was very supportive. Fast forward to another hospitalization. We had to get our son back from deployment. Dr. F had mentioned he could assist with bringing him home. I called Jessica to ask for her assistance. She was honest and said she didn't know how she would do it, but she would make sure our son got home soon.
The next thing I know my son is calling me with contact information for his superior, this was given to Jessica. A couple of hours later and lots of calls between Jessica, myself, and my son's Corporal, we found out he would be home the next morning.
We were still at the hospital, including my son, when Jessica came to visit. As soon as I saw her, I burst into tears, followed by my sister, C and my son. The amount of gratitude we had and still have, is never ending.
After this discharge we went to see Dr. F, who gave us a tough choice to make, hospice. We knew C wasn't getting any better and needed to be comfortable. Jessica was right there after our visit. She assured us she would make this transition easy for us and would continue to support us though this difficult journey.
A couple of weeks later, C was peacefully gone. Jessica tried to contact me a while after but I couldn't get myself to call back. We've since moved away and are trying to move on. I do need Jessica to know that her compassion, support and hard work were not unnoticed.
We were incredibly blessed and thankful to have had our son here, home from the Marines. We will never forget the amazing effort Jessica went through to make it happen. C and his son enjoyed those last days together. Jessica is she truly is an extraordinary nurse.
This is Jessica's second DAISY Award!