Thomas Bowmer
February 2013
Thomas
Bowmer
,
RN
Critical Care
St. John Macomb-Oakland Hospital / Macomb Center
Warren
,
MI
United States
Tom was nominated for a DAISY Award by a patient's daughter, who shared,
After 2 years of chronic illness with many scary hospitalizations with at least five different hospitals, Tom’s care exceeded everything I’ve experienced being at my mother’s bedside. She was unconscious on a ventilator, suffering from abdominal bleeds and sepsis. He was so gentle and tender with my mom, constantly changing cool forehead cloths and never being even a second late with meds that were keeping her comfortable. It became clear to us that my mother wasn’t going to come through this time and Tom guided us with kid gloves through the process of accepting what was happening.
He got to know us. He made us feel like family. Tom realized my dad and I needed to be talked to quite differently about my mom’s ultimate prognosis. He was very straight forward with me and spoke to me as a peer. I felt respected and grateful for his honesty, but moments later, he tenderly began guiding my dad through a much longer and less scientific (I’m a medical lab scientist) path to accepting and understanding what was going to happen. In the end, we did have to make the difficult choice to remove the vent and allow my mom to pass, which she did 9 hours later.
Tom was not working this day, but was the day before. He had a really beautiful conversation with me about my mom and helped me feel okay with “wanting” to make the decision to call Hospice and remove the vent to set my mom free. I knew I carried the burden of having to “speak up” as my dad was just not able. Tom nursed us. He knew I needed courage and he was just amazing. He helped me understand everything that was going to happen and helped me see the beautiful gift of peace we gave my mother by letting her go.
Before he left the day prior to mom’s passing, he came and said goodbye and gave us hugs and so much encouragement. He was an amazing nurse to both mom and our family. We feel truly blessed he was there to help my mom be comfortable and help us keep it together and make it through.
You’re lucky to have Tom on your staff. He most certainly deserves recognition for his skills with people and in ICU nursing!
After 2 years of chronic illness with many scary hospitalizations with at least five different hospitals, Tom’s care exceeded everything I’ve experienced being at my mother’s bedside. She was unconscious on a ventilator, suffering from abdominal bleeds and sepsis. He was so gentle and tender with my mom, constantly changing cool forehead cloths and never being even a second late with meds that were keeping her comfortable. It became clear to us that my mother wasn’t going to come through this time and Tom guided us with kid gloves through the process of accepting what was happening.
He got to know us. He made us feel like family. Tom realized my dad and I needed to be talked to quite differently about my mom’s ultimate prognosis. He was very straight forward with me and spoke to me as a peer. I felt respected and grateful for his honesty, but moments later, he tenderly began guiding my dad through a much longer and less scientific (I’m a medical lab scientist) path to accepting and understanding what was going to happen. In the end, we did have to make the difficult choice to remove the vent and allow my mom to pass, which she did 9 hours later.
Tom was not working this day, but was the day before. He had a really beautiful conversation with me about my mom and helped me feel okay with “wanting” to make the decision to call Hospice and remove the vent to set my mom free. I knew I carried the burden of having to “speak up” as my dad was just not able. Tom nursed us. He knew I needed courage and he was just amazing. He helped me understand everything that was going to happen and helped me see the beautiful gift of peace we gave my mother by letting her go.
Before he left the day prior to mom’s passing, he came and said goodbye and gave us hugs and so much encouragement. He was an amazing nurse to both mom and our family. We feel truly blessed he was there to help my mom be comfortable and help us keep it together and make it through.
You’re lucky to have Tom on your staff. He most certainly deserves recognition for his skills with people and in ICU nursing!