It is impossible to summarize in a few words what kind of nurse Marie Moses is to the ICU. Marie has devoted 36 years of her life to caring for a unique and complex group of patients. She is a born leader and has made countless contributions to make ICU what it is today. Marie is very patient care focused. This is evident by her coordination to make a dying woman's wish come true.
This patient was dying from kidney and respiratory failure. She was so sick that the doctors started talking to her about placing her on continuous dialysis and placing a breathing tube in her since she was having a hard time breathing on her own. The patient was still capable of making her own decisions and told the doctor that she did not want to die in pain or suffer through medical treatment. Her family tried to convince her for over 6 hours to change her mind and the physician went over all the options with them. Finally, the patient stated that "it is my time to go with God and be by his side." She then told the nurse and her family that before she died, she wanted to give herself to God and be baptized. The nurse was stunned by the request and thought that it couldn't be done but she told the family she would check with the team leader to see what could be done. When the nurse informed Marie of the woman's wishes, Marie jumped into action stating, "we will make this happen and fulfill her last wish." And that is all it took.
What Marie did was astounding. She coordinated with several different people in order to make it happen. Since JPS did not have a pool or area big enough to perform a baptism, Marie thought, "we could do this in an inflatable pool!" That patient was too sick and frail to move to anywhere outside of the ICU by this point. Marie coordinated with someone to go and buy a pool that they could put water in. While someone went to get the pool, she called the patient's minister, respiratory therapist, Chaplin, the house supervisor, and her hall leads to coordinate this baptism. Everyone was on board and assisted with the process. When the pool arrived in the unit, it was blown up and Marie coordinated with staff members to help fill it up. She created an assembly line and more than 10 staff members helped to fill this pool little by little by carrying water from the sinks in little pink basins. It took over an hour to fill the pool up enough to be able to submerge the patient in the water and perform the baptism! It was truly amazing.
The patient's minister performed the baptism and stated to the nurses that he had never seen anything like this to ensure a dying woman's last wish was honored. The family was in tears through the baptism and stated they were so grateful. They didn't think this would be able to happen and worried that their mother would not rest in peace when she passed. They stated, "she will now pass over to the other side and live in peace with God." Marie stayed with the patient after the baptism, just holding her hand. At that moment, with tears in her eyes, the patient told Marie, "because of you and your compassion, I am at peace with God and am ready to go on my new journey. You have forever changed my life. You are my Angel and I am now ready to die." Marie sat at the bedside with the patient for the next hour just holding her hand. It is this kind of nurse that touches the lives of everyone she comes into contact with. She is truly special and our Angel in ICU.