Matt Peavy
June 2021
Matt
Peavy
,
RN, BSN
Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit
Nebraska Medicine -Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha
,
NE
United States
My Mom told us that she would not have been able to make it through this whole process during the week she was there without Matt!
We had to make decisions about my Dad with his unexpected turn in health. It made it easier with Matt there to talk my Mom through everything that my Dad was going through and how the things he was doing were going to make him comfortable while saying my Dad’s name anytime he did anything. It made us feel that Matt still saw him as a person even though we were not sure he was still with us.
Matt was always watching my Dad’s vitals and when he needed to leave to help another nurse with their patient, he let my mom know where he was going to be if she needed him. The day we got to see my Dad with our family was hard. With COVID, we did a video chat trying to get my Dad to respond to our voices. It wasn’t the same walking into his room with all the machines he was hooked up to. As soon as we walked in, Matt asked us if we had any questions he could answer. He talked with us in terms that we could understand and explained everything that doctors had told him since it was overwhelming for my mom to remember everything. He was empathetic to our feelings and needs with my Dad.
With different doctors talking with us, we were so confused about what to do. Matt reminded us that we needed to do what my Dad would want if he was able to tell us and that a lot of family members think of themselves since they don’t want to say goodbye to their loved one.
That day was the hardest one of the week. We decided to take my Dad off his vent. Matt continued to tell us everything he was doing as well as talking to my Dad, so he knew as well. I asked Matt why he chose his occupation and he told me that he wants to make sure that his patients get the best care possible, even if it is like my dad on ending his life. He told us that there is a right way to make people comfortable during their last moments. My Mom told us that she would not have been able to make it through this whole process during the week she was there without Matt! He made her comfortable enough to be able to leave my Dad at night and know that he was in good hands. He also made accommodations for my mom and Dad to be able to stay together in a larger room until his body had enough. The thought was amazing making it available for my Mom to have her own bathroom/shower just in case she was there for a long period of time. Meeting Matt makes me expect more out of the ones I encounter now.
Matt was always watching my Dad’s vitals and when he needed to leave to help another nurse with their patient, he let my mom know where he was going to be if she needed him. The day we got to see my Dad with our family was hard. With COVID, we did a video chat trying to get my Dad to respond to our voices. It wasn’t the same walking into his room with all the machines he was hooked up to. As soon as we walked in, Matt asked us if we had any questions he could answer. He talked with us in terms that we could understand and explained everything that doctors had told him since it was overwhelming for my mom to remember everything. He was empathetic to our feelings and needs with my Dad.
With different doctors talking with us, we were so confused about what to do. Matt reminded us that we needed to do what my Dad would want if he was able to tell us and that a lot of family members think of themselves since they don’t want to say goodbye to their loved one.
That day was the hardest one of the week. We decided to take my Dad off his vent. Matt continued to tell us everything he was doing as well as talking to my Dad, so he knew as well. I asked Matt why he chose his occupation and he told me that he wants to make sure that his patients get the best care possible, even if it is like my dad on ending his life. He told us that there is a right way to make people comfortable during their last moments. My Mom told us that she would not have been able to make it through this whole process during the week she was there without Matt! He made her comfortable enough to be able to leave my Dad at night and know that he was in good hands. He also made accommodations for my mom and Dad to be able to stay together in a larger room until his body had enough. The thought was amazing making it available for my Mom to have her own bathroom/shower just in case she was there for a long period of time. Meeting Matt makes me expect more out of the ones I encounter now.