PICU Team
June 2019
PICU Team
at St. Joseph's Hospitals and South Florida Baptist Hospital
Pediatric Critical Care
St. Joseph's Hospitals and South Florida Baptist Hospital
Tampa
,
FL
United States
Dr. Green;
Dr. Slinko;
Chesley Kahlich, Resp. Therapist;
Iris Jimenez, Resp. Therapist;
Rachel Townsend, Resp. Therapist;
Luis Cerveleon, Resp. Therapist;
Eric Rodriguez, Resp. Therapist;
Melissa Fulton, Resp. Therapist;
Tiffany Banuls, Resp. Therapist;
Mark Meabe, Physicians Assistant;
Kelly Phillips, APRN;
Andrea Martinez, RN;
Dierdre Fitzsimons, RN;
Leanne Knox;
Laura Kilmer, RN;
Lisa Campbell, RN;
Amber Johns, RN;
Jennifer Pursser, RN;
Angela Vanecek, RN;
Jonathan (JoJo) Neveu, RN;
Stacey Olson;
Norman Espinet;
Jessica Copeland;
Nancy Greenwood, RN;
Kelsey Langford, RN;
Randy Newell, RN;
Katrina Schiro, RN;
Anthony Wright, RN;
Riane Goodwin, RN;
Ashley Veliz;
Tiffany Loomis, RN;
Angela Klossner, RN;
Karen Wingert, RN;
Kristin Bailey, RN;
Marian Arada, RN;
Laura Larrivee, RN;
William Bjornsen, RN;
Emily Mulhollen, RN;
Nesthana (Ana) Pierre, RN;
Doralee Ducote, RN;
Alisa Cartwright, RN;
Brenda Malowany, RN;
Maria Cabrera;
Dana Lord, RN;
Kendall Bayliss, RN;
Michelle Perna, RN;
Marta Mendoza, RN

 

 

 

A 19-year-old end-stage oncology patient was in our hospital for multiple admissions. During her last hospital stay, she declined tremendously. She shared with our nurses, Oncology team, her family and friends that she had 4 wishes. She didn't want to be in pain when she died, she did not want to be intubated this time, she wanted to marry her longtime boyfriend and be able to ride home one last time. On Labor Day the team was very concerned she was not going to be able to survive for more than 24 hours. She was extremely unstable requiring too much oxygen so we couldn't take her to the chapel to get married. However, the hospital nursing team and the Pediatric Cancer Foundation worked together to make her wish come true the same day. Since it was Labor Day the nursing team and the Foundation worked together to arrange resources to be able to make this patient's wedding happen. We were able to arrange with the support of our community a professional musician to come play/sing her wedding song, a professional photographer to take their pictures, 2 wedding gowns for the bride to choose from, and had a tux and shoes for the groom. We converted and decorated the unit and her room for her wedding ceremony. She had flowers, arches, pictures and a close family member who was able to officiate the ceremony. She was able to write her vows for her fiancé. There was a wedding cake and much more! This was a very emotional time for this patient, their family and several teams in the hospital. The patient passed away in our hospital a couple of days later. She was very loved by many of us. We were able to grant 3 of her 4 wishes. She died surrounded by her family, friends and our team very comfortably. The team made sure she was not in pain. We respected her wish of not getting intubated and she was able to marry her best friend. Unfortunately, we were not able to get her to ride home because of the amount of oxygen support she required. After her wedding both the bride and groom were happy that we were able to make it happen on a holiday. For the nursing team what mattered the most was to make sure that she died with dignity, respect and as peaceful as possible. It was very emotionally draining for the entire team, but I'm very proud of everyone's kindness in our hospital and in the community. Everyone donated their time, effort and many items to make this happen.