Jessie took care of an ICU 2-year-old. The little boy was so scared and quickly became attached to her smiling face. She made him feel at home as best as possible. She got a high chair so he could eat lunch with her and she took him for wagon rides. She stayed late to help him fall asleep at change of shift. She truly went out of her way. By the end of his stay, he was calling her "mommy"!
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In life, there are days that are marked by the help of strangers, and these phenomenal moments may only be minutes. As nurses, we see things that are not felt, not understood, nor explained to others, especially our own family members. Recently, my mother-in-law was intubated in the ED and admitted to the ICU. Once in the ICU, I understood her prognosis to be uncertain. Having a heart history, she was seen by a cardiologist who told us that one side of her heart was extremely large due to a leaky heart valve.
A room at St. Louis was available and the decision to transfer her needed to be made. Being a nurse but also a family member I was struggling to explain details to my family. Jessie came in and in the most professional, kind, sincere way she stepped in to explain what I could not get two brothers to hear. Her tone of voice and her confidence relaxed them enough to hear and understand how the two different physicians had different views. The tension in the air between family over their mother's condition and their complete faith in what physicians say make this one of the most difficult conversations to step into.
I truly cannot express how much I appreciate Jessie for stepping into that conversation in that small ICU room to help explain things, so they could process information and focus on what was best for their mom. I realize now that I needed to be family. I was so proud of the nursing profession when I saw Jessie modeling a part of what nursing is about, compassion.