Marissa was above & beyond every day that she was my father’s nurse. We looked forward to having her again. However, she was not my dad’s nurse on this day. The floor was short staffed, and she had just popped in to see if we needed anything. I was so glad she was there, and I asked if she could listen to his lungs. So, she did and noted he sounded different and was gurgling. She ordered respiratory therapy (RT). 

She then went on to tell RT this isn’t how he sounded previously, then went to care for her own patients. RT did a breathing treatment and left. Our tech came and was going to bathe him, but went to get the supplies. Marissa came back and asked if he sounded better.  Our tech came back, and what happened next was beyond me. But I know it is Marissa and N who took the steps to save my dad’s life. Marissa listened and began talking to him but received no response. Marissa and N began doing all kinds of checks, and when she couldn’t get anything from Dad, she started pressing buttons and calling various teams. Before I even knew what was happening, the room was full of teams. N spoke loudly, trying to get my father to respond. I heard Marissa say I’m calling the Code Team, and in a moment, 14 people were assisting my dad. They couldn’t get a blood pressure reading. I heard things like bi-pap, act, intubate, anesthesia. Marissa never left me. She walked me through the halls while the team worked with my dad. They transferred him to the ICU. 

She interpreted what they were saying to me and helped me understand, but most importantly, she was able to answer every question the teams had about my father and the care he had received over the last several weeks. Even though he was not her patient, she called the teams in and saved his life. My dad is breathing and alive because Marissa cared enough to check on him and made a quick decision to call a code team even though it wasn't her duty that day. Marissa was our angel.