February 2015
Mark
Hood
,
RN
Medical ICU
Covenant Health
Lubbock
,
TX
United States
As a nurse, your family turns to you for questions on a cold versus the flu, does this need stitches, and sometimes as the translator and support when family gets admitted to your own hospital. Recently my husband's 88 year old grandfather was taken to an urgent care clinic with respiratory symptoms and fatigue. With low oxygen saturations, he was transported via ambulance to Covenant's ED. Upon arrival he was intubated, PICC line placed, with fluids and antibiotics started. That evening he was transferred to the MICU.
The call from my inlaws was a surprise because he was the "healthy" grandparent. He was the one that could tell a joke at a moments notice, tell a story without mistake from 65 years ago, and could play with my 2 year old son for hours. He was diagnosed with the flu....at that time.
The following day I went to visit him with my husband and his daughter, my mother in law. I was immediately comforted when I walked up to see a familiar face, Mark Hood. Mark is a MICU nurse with more experience and knowledge than most residents combined. He took the time to explain the patient's condition in common terms and medical terms to meet all the family's needs. He was honest and straightforward, which I have deep respect for. He explained his critical condition, signs of septic shock, and multiple organ failure. He spoke to us with confidence, compassion, and respect. My mother-in-law and I felt a deep connection with Mark, whether he knew it or not.
We went in to visit grandfather. He for the first time looked old to me. He was on pressors to keep his blood pressure up, sedation, a ventilator with moderately high settings, poor urine output, and was showing multiple signs of septic shock. Mark explained everything and correctly predicted what would happen next, continued organ failure. The rest of the day and that evening, his's condition declined.
The following morning, he would not awaken, even with a decrease in sedation. He had maximum doses of all his pressors, was given multiple fluid boluses without improvement, and urine output continued to decrease. We all knew in the back of our minds that he was not going to make it.
Mark was the charge nurse of MICU this day. He once again took the time to explain everything to every member of the family. He was honest, compassionate, and once again, knowledgeable. When his physician gave the option of waiting to see what would happen and give it another day, we knew this was not easy for anyone to say. From the information of his physicians and Mark, the family made the right decision to withdraw care and let him be with Jesus.
Mark worked with his bedside nurse, physicians, and respiratory therapist to ensure everything was done just as he and the family wanted. He coordinated every detail from alarms, order of withdrawal of care to not prolong death, pain and sedation medication to keep him comfortable, visitation of our pastor, isolation protocols to keep us all safe, and most of all maintain his dignity. As his death was extremely sad for us all, I have a deep peace about it. The peace is from him flying to Jesus with dignity and comfort, because of a very special nurse - Mark Hood. We are eternally grateful for him.
The call from my inlaws was a surprise because he was the "healthy" grandparent. He was the one that could tell a joke at a moments notice, tell a story without mistake from 65 years ago, and could play with my 2 year old son for hours. He was diagnosed with the flu....at that time.
The following day I went to visit him with my husband and his daughter, my mother in law. I was immediately comforted when I walked up to see a familiar face, Mark Hood. Mark is a MICU nurse with more experience and knowledge than most residents combined. He took the time to explain the patient's condition in common terms and medical terms to meet all the family's needs. He was honest and straightforward, which I have deep respect for. He explained his critical condition, signs of septic shock, and multiple organ failure. He spoke to us with confidence, compassion, and respect. My mother-in-law and I felt a deep connection with Mark, whether he knew it or not.
We went in to visit grandfather. He for the first time looked old to me. He was on pressors to keep his blood pressure up, sedation, a ventilator with moderately high settings, poor urine output, and was showing multiple signs of septic shock. Mark explained everything and correctly predicted what would happen next, continued organ failure. The rest of the day and that evening, his's condition declined.
The following morning, he would not awaken, even with a decrease in sedation. He had maximum doses of all his pressors, was given multiple fluid boluses without improvement, and urine output continued to decrease. We all knew in the back of our minds that he was not going to make it.
Mark was the charge nurse of MICU this day. He once again took the time to explain everything to every member of the family. He was honest, compassionate, and once again, knowledgeable. When his physician gave the option of waiting to see what would happen and give it another day, we knew this was not easy for anyone to say. From the information of his physicians and Mark, the family made the right decision to withdraw care and let him be with Jesus.
Mark worked with his bedside nurse, physicians, and respiratory therapist to ensure everything was done just as he and the family wanted. He coordinated every detail from alarms, order of withdrawal of care to not prolong death, pain and sedation medication to keep him comfortable, visitation of our pastor, isolation protocols to keep us all safe, and most of all maintain his dignity. As his death was extremely sad for us all, I have a deep peace about it. The peace is from him flying to Jesus with dignity and comfort, because of a very special nurse - Mark Hood. We are eternally grateful for him.