Lynne Barela was the night nurse on duty in the ICU and was responsible for taking care of my dad. My mom and I spent a night in my dad's room that night as she had the past 3 nights. We had made the decision earlier in the evening with the rest of the family to remove my father from life support the following morning. I believe Lynne was an angel that night sent to look after my dad as well as my mom and me. She was so attentive to my dad and so gentle when she moved him. It seemed like she was in the room with us most of the night. Every time she would come in, she would stop and ask my mom in a quiet voice if there was anything she could get for her or do for her. During the night she gave us little wooden crosses and offered us a poem where she would place my dad's handprint as Memorial of my dad. We asked if we could have 6 of these for his 3 children and 2 grandchildren. Additionally, at some point, we asked her about the end of life process and logistical questions about funeral homes, the VA cemeteries, etc. To our surprise, we discovered she had lost her father only a year earlier and that he too was a veteran. She walked us through her experience as well as the end of life process in such direct yet extremely compassionate manner that it gave both my mom and me a sense of calm. These words are not doing justice to what an amazing nurse and professional caregiver Lynne was that evening, but I will never forget how she treated us and my sweet father.
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Lynne was concerned not only with helping my boyfriend get better but also making sure I was able to cope with the stress of an ER visit followed by recovery in the ICU.