While we cannot say enough about the wonderful professionalism and compassion of each and every staff member we encountered at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, there is one person we would like to nominate for his exceptional care and empathy. John Solman was my brother S’s nurse in the ICU for three days. S’s diagnosis and quick demise had left us all reeling. The complications and roadblocks to additional treatments became insurmountable. John was so calm and warm that we could see S visibly relaxing under his care. In conversations with S, family, and staff, it was obvious that one of S’s primary goals was to continue work on his book of poetry, the culmination of his life’s efforts. John talked to him about his poems and worked to facilitate his poetry legacy. John offered to read S’s poems to him during quiet moments so he could make changes and identify the ones he wanted to include. The family was having trouble accessing the poems as S could no longer remember his password. John even called the next shift nurse to fill her in on the situation and see if we had been successful in accessing his computer.

The next day John worked, my daughter and I were sitting with S, who was, by this time, in and out of consciousness. John came in and asked S who his favorite poet was, which led my daughter to read a couple of poems by a poet she knew S admired. He smiled in acknowledgment. She then accessed and read a poem that S composed for her family. John and I exchanged smiles as S began to mouth the words and broke into a smile that lit up his whole face. It was the last time we would see that level of animation and joy.

John was always so honest with us and answered any questions we had, but it was his personal connection to my brother and his life that allowed for moments of joy in a dire situation. We cannot thank him enough.