My uncle, F was admitted to Good Sam. He came in through the ER due to severe stomach pains, most likely due to the complications of his cancer diagnosis. A whole lot of great care happened over the next couple of days from a lot of amazing doctors and nurses. But on Sunday evening, F was admitted into the ICU... his liver and kidneys were failing. By Monday morning, it was determined that nothing else could be done and my uncle was moved to "comfort care" only. I'm sure that F's nurse, Bryan, had no idea what work had in store of him on that Monday morning. You see, the T family tends to rally in hard times. We are a large group... not large. Huge. And we tend to be loud! On Monday morning, we all found out that F didn't have much time left on this earth, and we all showed up. Bryan made us all feel so welcome. He even made sure there was water and tea and cookies in F's room. He made sure we had chairs and the space we needed to be with F in his final hours. I watched as Bryan paced the hall, checking vitals through the window as to not disturb our family. We prayed and I know Bryan was praying with us.
My mom is the oldest sibling of the bunch. She also lives the furthest away, 4 hours. She also is a retired nurse. My mom was struggling to understand what all was going on with F. With 10 siblings, it's like playing a bad game of telephone. By the time she was getting information, it was all messed up. My Uncle J explained to Bryan that my mom was confused and really wanted to know what was going on with F. Without hesitation, Bryan called my mom and spoke to her over the phone. I can't tell you the comfort this provided for her. She had a 4 hour drive ahead of her and all she could do was think about and pray for F. At least she now had accurate information.
F ended up passing at 1:11 pm on Monday. Bryan was there to check for a heartbeat and when he didn't find one, he compassionately let us know F had expired. He gave us his condolences, and then quietly stepped out of the room, closing the curtain for privacy. When the immediate family had said their goodbyes, the extended family went into the room. Bryan came in to check on us all. We never once felt rushed to leave. My mom was not able to make it to the hospital before F passed. She was still an hour outside Kearney. I asked Bryan if there was any way he could wait to call the mortuary so that my mom could say her last goodbye to her brother. Bryan, without hesitation, said, of course, he could wait. Within the hour, my mom arrived and was able to hug her brother one last time.
Bryan, my message to you...
You didn't have to allow all of us in the room at once, but you did. You didn't have to provide refreshments, but you did. You didn't have to get ice packs for my cousin who had just had back surgery, but you did. You didn't have to work around all of us, as we were in your way, but you did. You didn't have to pray with us, but you did. You didn't have to make phone calls to crazy sisters, but you did. You didn't have to wait to call the mortuary, but you did. You didn't have to give us hugs to show your condolences, but you did. The care you showed F was incredible, but the care you showed our family, was exceptional. You made a difference to us!! From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU!