My father was admitted to the ICU at Wellstar West Georgia Center after emergency surgery to repair a perforated colon which occurred earlier in the day during a colonoscopy at a local clinic. He spent 11 days in the ICU, finally succumbing to his internal injuries surrounded by his family and covered in prayer by friends in the waiting room. His death was unexpected and has naturally been hard on all of us – at 72, he was much too young to leave us.
 
You obviously see these tragic stories unfold on a regular basis and have probably witnessed every possible reaction to the death of a loved one. This isn’t new to our family, either, but it is much more immediate for some of us. My mother is guided by her faith in God and her strength supports the rest of us in many ways even as we try to support her through this difficult time. 
 
We wanted to reach out to you to tell you about our experience in your hospital for that long and difficult week and a half. While it ended with the worst possible outcome – one we could have never imagined when we woke up that Wednesday morning - there were moments of joy and hope that revealed themselves throughout the days and nights through the hands and mouths and hearts of your staff in the ICU.
 
Each and every member of the team who treated my dad worked with great skill, focus, passion, and humanity as they first saved his life and then fought to keep it as his body was failing him. His doctor, Dr. Horlander, led the team who took him into the ICU after what we later learned was expert surgery by Dr. Scoglietti. My mother spent the first night with him, sleepless, praying, and staying out of the way. We heard stories of Ashton’s heroic efforts that night, working the machines to keep them running. Later in the week, I witnessed Ashton’s determined pace as he changed the pesky CRRT filter several times through his long shift.
 
Then in the morning, we met Kimbo, whom my mom called my dad’s ‘first love’. Kimbo was special – and was with us from the beginning to the end, working several of the days we were there. One morning she hit the ground running at shift change, working non-stop without a break for several hours going from repositioning Dad in the bed to taking out the trash and dirty linens on top of her other duties. Throughout it all – and to the very end, she exuded other-worldly care and concern for my dad and for all of us who were there with him, all the while maintaining her professionalism.
 
Others who treated him included Amy, who spent one night trying one thing after another to try to coax improvement from his failing organs, refusing to give up even as morning came and her replacement took over. Brittany, Hayley, and Aleigha spent several days and nights with us and each of them displayed the same professionalism, persistence, and care. We connected with them each in different ways: Brittany was there for Mom, coming back later in the week when she wasn’t even working on our hall; Aleigha getting helicopter pilot connections for her husband from my uncle who flew in the Army; and Hayley, who had to endure both my brother and me sleeping in the room on successive nights. Overwhelmingly, your nurses cared for us. They loved on my mom without ‘breaking character’. I can’t understand how they do it – seeing the suffering and hurt by families (who are often in the way in the room) and connecting personally with their patients while doing their jobs at such a high level. On the day he died, one of the nurses who wasn’t one who treated him spoke to me outside of his room. She explained to me that they often hold it together during their shift and then sit in the car in the parking lot and cry at the hurt and sadness they witnessed. I can only imagine the endurance and discipline it takes to do that job.
 
On his last days, Kellyn was there with us. She started out as all business, doing her job with efficiency and a quiet determination. By Sunday, though, she knew what our family needed and it went beyond doing the nursing duties of her patient – and she loved us through the end.
 
But it wasn’t just the nurses who gave outstanding service and care. The doctors took so much time with us to explain things that were difficult for us to hear and understand. They, too, gave care and love beyond the work that was required of their jobs. 
 
It seems counterintuitive to find anything positive from this experience, but having those who cared for my dad in his last days treat him and us with such love and respect helped us through such a difficult time. We are grateful first for their medical training but also for their persistence and commitment – but mostly for their humanity.
 
I hope you will share this with all of the ICU staff and thank them – and encourage them to keep it up... every family, whether they express it or not, appreciates all they do.