When Traci Dodds, RN, went to the home of a new hospice patient late one night to perform a "tuck in," she was met with a distraught and confused family. The patient had gone from preparing for a transplant to nonresponsive. Her daughter—pregnant with her first child—was left reeling and heartbroken over her mother's sudden decline.
Dodds immediately stepped in to support the grieving family. She walked them through why she was there and how hospice could support them, connected with a doctor to obtain the correct medications, and even went to the pharmacy to pick them up.
The next day, she went back to the home and found the daughter at her mother's bedside, crying. She told Dodds that everyone had given her mother permission to die, but she believed she was waiting to find out the sex of the baby—the two had been planning a gender reveal party—but her ultrasound wasn't for another week.
"Sometimes, we do see that patients are hanging on for a reason," says Dodd. "I have had several patients where there has been family overseas in the military and grandma's waiting for that last phone call from her grandson."
Dodd's called the OB/GYN, explained the circumstances, and got permission for the daughter to go and have the ultrasound immediately. The patient died within two hours of her daughter sharing the news— it was a girl and she would be named in her honor.
Hospice was there to help that patient have a peaceful, quiet, dignified death and Traci was there to help the family in their darkest time.
There's no such thing as a typical day for Dodds. As a hospice nurse, she takes care of patients at the end of their lives and that looks different for each patient and for their families. What is constant is the incredible compassion and care she provides to both. Whether she's making her patient more comfortable, comforting a distraught family, or helping fulfill someone's dying wishes, Dodds lets patients' needs guide her care.