Jessica Ripper, RN, BSN

Our mother was recently a patient at Lancaster General Hospital. She was admitted after a fall in her apartment at Masonic Village. She was placed on the observation floor for almost a week. She had many issues and had an abscess in her pelvis.

We are not sure if the fall she took caused the abscess to worsen, but we were told Mom would need surgery. The original surgery was set but had to be canceled due to an emergency for the doctor. The surgery was rescheduled for the end of the month.

After Mom's surgery, she was placed on 5 North, and that is where we met Jessica. Jessica was the first nurse to greet Mom after she was placed on this unit. She was kind, respectful, caring, and treated our mother like a member of her family. I knew the first time I met Jessica that she was a gift from God to my mother and my family.

The care she gave our mom was above and beyond excellent. She treated our mom with dignity and respect each and every time she took care of her. She took the time to explain what she was going to do and when she would have to turn mom, bathe her, or give her medication; she was gentle and kind.

She took the time to get to know our mom and took the time to sit with me and talk about who my mother was and what was important to her. She asked about our father, the love of our mom's life. How they met, how long they were together, and his name. She would update me on how Mom was whenever I visited. She always had a smile on her face, and she was a ray of sunshine when I would walk in the room.

She truly cared about Mom. It didn't seem like it was just a job to her. She has a gift of caring for others, and I got to witness it many times during our mom's hospital stay.

After our mom's surgery, things went in the wrong direction with her health. She was very ill, and our mother stated she did not want to have any more tests or surgeries. We made the decision as a family, at Mom's request, to stop everything and to place her on comfort measures.

Our mom's wish was to be transferred to the Masonic Village Hospice unit. They evaluated her, and we were told she did not qualify for Hospice. The decision was made that she would stay at Lancaster General with the nurses and staff that had been taking care of her to this point.

Our mom was started on Morphine and was not coherent most of the time, but Jessica continued to treat her with dignity and respect. Jessica showed support and compassion to me and my family every time she was taking care of mom. Every time I went to see Mom and Jessica was there, she would give me an informed update on how she was doing.

One of the times I went to visit, Jessica had washed Mom up, combed her hair, changed her hospital gown, and made her look so nice. She continued to talk with our mom, even though we knew she was getting ready to leave this earthly life and be with her one true love.

I felt true peace knowing Jessica was taking care of my mom because she cared for her the way I would have.

Jessica called me on a Friday to share with me that our mom had passed. She shared that mom passed peacefully and that she was with her.

Jessica on 5 North has been and is a true gift. She touched our mother's life with kindness, respect, and compassion that you don't see very often. I hope Lancaster General Hospital realizes what a rare gem they have working to ease the pain and suffering with her gift of love and support.

My family and I will be forever grateful to Jessica for walking with us through this very difficult journey.