This past weekend I witnessed a true act of selflessness and compassion from a nurse I had the pleasure of working with. On this night Mandy Henderson was assigned a bridging patient whose family was not staying with her that night. Throughout the shift, Mandy continually made sure the patient was comfortable, clean, and pain free, but what stood out to me the most was that when Mandy was not tending to her other patients, she stayed in the room with this woman all night long to make sure she wasn't alone in the last hours of her life.
When I would pass by the room or go in to check on the patient Mandy was by her side every time. She played gospel music, held her hand, talked to her, and just made sure the patient knew she wasn't alone. Mandy went above and beyond that night to give her patient the best care and support she could. Unfortunately, that patient passed at the end of the shift, but Mandy was at her bedside comforting her until her very last breath.