On a weekend, Joshua admitted a patient to 9S ICU. This patient was admitted for post-cardiac arrest. She was found down at a local hotel and resuscitated by EMS. She had fallen victim to an overdose. She was 22yrs old. She had no ID and no paperwork with her. EMS was unable to provide any details about her family or emergency contact. Her "friends" provided no information at the time. This patient had a very poor prognosis and the physician team began to go down the path of brain death.
The next day Joshua resumed care of this patient. He understood very clearly that this patient's journey was coming to an end. Life net was consulted, and she was quite possibly an organ donor. Joshua worked closely with case management and social work to try to identify this young lady. The skip trace was a dead end. At one point, a friend stated that she was from Lexington. This gave Josh a new lead. Josh worked tirelessly for 12 hours, calling the police, Behavioral Health Services, Dept of Social Services, etc. Josh turned over every rock to try to find a family member for this patient. He was determined to provide closure for this young lady. Josh never quit, never got frustrated. Josh was fielding all these calls while providing 1:1 care for this critically ill patient. At the end of the shift, his investigation skills paid off. The Lexington police had called, they had found her mother. The mother had not seen her child in 8 years.
Josh was back the next day to do it all over again. Josh was committed to providing closure for this mother. He visited with the mother and showed her kindness and empathy. This patient was able to provide the gift of life to 2 other people.
The perseverance and determination of this nurse provided a different experience for this Mother. Although heartbreaking, this Mother was able to see her child one last time.