I have worked closely with Jenny over the past several months and every week I see examples of her calling as a nurse and her personal dedication to patients. I can't give just one story because that wouldn't give the full picture of her impact. So, I give you four.
My first story is about an incredibly anxious wife and a very sick husband. His wife was so worried about losing her husband she couldn't face the thought of rearranging the furniture to bring in a hospital bed. After a bit of discussion, Jenny grabbed the heavy end of the lift chair and worked and worked until it was moved around with all the other furniture until there was an open space for the hospital bed. She made sure the furniture looked nice and was in a good place for the wife. She also vacuumed the entire living room since she was "vacuuming anyway". This meant the world to this wife who was able to keep him in their tidy home through the end of his life.
The second story is Wisconsin in winter. During the winter of incessant snowfall, Jenny was called out to another death visit. After arriving at the home, completing her cares, making her contacts and supporting the family, Jenny proceeded to shovel snow to allow the funeral home to get to the house, while the chaplain continued to support the family. I wasn't there, but I would bet no one asked her to do that.
My third story is about a young man with a seizure disorder resulting in his development delay with a level of understanding of a 4-year-old. Jenny has taken this young man under her wing and into her heart. He came onto our service prior to Christmas and Jenny spearheaded the campaign to make sure he and his family had an amazing holiday. She organized a gift drive for not only the patient but all members of his family living in his home (5 other people). She recruited a Santa and was there for the delivering of the presents on her own time. There were bags and bags of presents for them. She watched him decline at each visit, accepting him when he refuses vitals and doesn't want to wear pants (the patient, not Jenny) and gives him pretty much anything he wants.
My last story is of a nursing home patient with very advanced dementia. We all know this patient. She is in her 70's, spends her day in a Broda chair, calling out at times with nonverbal auditory sounds, unable to communicate her needs or wants. Jenny took time out of her day to visit this patient, bring her a piece of cheesecake (to spoil her lunch) and fed her the entire piece, which the patient loved. This was not a scheduled nursing visit. No one would have known if she did not do this. Despite the absolute lack of recognition by this patient or anyone, Jenny provided moments of joy, companionship, and love to her.
All our nurses are absolutely amazing, and I get the honor of working so closely with Jenny that I get to see how she sneaks these genuine acts of caring into her work every day. She goes above and beyond and beyond and beyond.