My mother was hospitalized in January for a seemingly simple urinary tract infection. As a vibrant, lovely 85-year-old woman who was extremely independent, you can imagine our shock at how quickly she deteriorated.
I live in Eastern Iowa and was trying to manage her house, healthcare and support needs from a distance. I spent many hours talking with the hospitalists, charge nurses, and primary nurses for my mother. My one constant in all this was Rita Mikkelsen. Rita took the time to talk to both my brother and me through my mother's medical course and discharge plans. When it got to where my mother's condition was to the point where we needed to make some very hard choices, Rita was there. She called me while I was on my way to see my mother and was very honest with my mother's condition. She was kind, compassionate, caring, at the same time being very sincere, yet frank about how my mother was doing. I will never forget that call. I felt supported, loved, and cared for while making the hardest decision of my life. She sat with me and my family while we talked with the physician about end of life care. She took time to listen to our stories about what my mother would want and what she would not want. She was quick to give us a hug or a hand or a compassionate smile. I write this with tears in my eyes. Tears of gratitude, tears of sadness, tears of joy and tears of thankfulness for her kindness and compassion.
My mother went home to be with Jesus two weeks after her diagnosis. Our family was so blessed by Rita's compassion, expertise, and genuine love. Being a nurse myself, I know that the hours are long, the time spent with families in grief is hard, but the rewards are immeasurable. Our family thanks Rita Mikkelsen from the bottom of our hearts for spending the time with us as we walked our hard road.