The death of a loved one is never easy. It is often even more difficult when this happens in the hospital and around the holidays. This happened on JMH B5, the weekend after Thanksgiving, for one family. The B5 team staff invited them to stay with their mother around the clock for those last few days, and they were so grateful. But one nurse, in particular, stood out to them as having gone above and beyond for their mother and family. Her actions so moved them that after their mother had passed, they shared this story with pastoral care as having made a difference in their experience.

Meredith Leiter took the time to ensure they and their mother were comfortable and created an environment as much like home as she could. For this family, the efforts Meredith took to bring some holiday spirit to their very sad time truly made a positive impact. She kept the tone in the room light and brought joy and humor to the space. She set up an iPad to play Christmas music for the patient to lighten her spirits as the end was nearing. The patient’s youngest daughter, who seemed to be having the most difficult time with this experience, told pastoral care that walking into the room and seeing her mother look so comfortable and hearing the music playing helped her to experience some joy in such an unhappy time.

These seemingly small gestures made a huge difference to this family’s end-of-life experience and helped create some closure for them in this difficult situation. By creating a serene and pleasant space for the family to share their last days’ goodbyes, Meredith gave them the greatest holiday gift by giving them peace in their sadness.