robert blackburn, BSN, RN

The first night was a whirlwind of activity, but Bob never made us feel unwelcome in the room while they stabilized T. Bob really became our friend. He went out of his way to make us comfortable by sharing personal stories, as well as humorous stories to lighten the mood. Bob worked incredibly hard without break to keep T alive during one particular night. The next day things took a turn for the worse. That evening, Bob pointed out that he would work just as hard that night to make sure that T could be a hero as he donated his organs.
He was a soundboard, a source of advice, a vessel of humor when needed, but continued to stay real the whole time while letting me cry, complain and vent as I needed. On the morning of the organ recovery, Bob was everything we needed. Moments before the transport to the OR, Bob offered to let me lie with T one last time, arranging tubes and equipment, giving me one last chance to say goodbye. He will never know how much that meant. At the request of the family, he drove over an hour to support us at the celebration of T's life. Bob is what every nurse strives to be—competent, caring, personable, dedicated and irreplaceable.