It was an early morning one day in May, when I received a call from law enforcement, advising that my son R was in a terrible car accident, unresponsive at the scene and taken by Flight for Life to Aurora Medical Center - Summit.
R Coded again when he was moved from the ER to ICU. Enter one of the Nurse Angels, Chris. With help, Angel Chris was able to revive my son.
The rest of that morning, I sat there watching Angel Chris work furiously trying to stabilize my son. I watched her make a strategic decision to move R to a different ICU room that was closer to the nurse's station where additional Angels would be more readily available if needed. I began to wonder why my son was brought to a Level 2 facility 40 miles away from home when a Level 1 facility was only 18 miles away.
Not long after, Angel Chris summoned a band of Angels to watch over my son. They were named Liz, Ashley and Ashlee, Kelly and Kelly B, Amanda, Dali, Deb and Debbie, Kate and Katie, Melissa, Jen and Jenny, Kurt, Bonny, Teresa and too many others to remember. But one by one, the Angels watched over my son. As the days wore on, I stopped wondering why R was at Aurora in Summit instead of being closer to home in the well-known facility. I became thankful for the choice of trauma centers and Chris and the other Angels who took charge of his care. There was no doubt in my mind that the care he was receiving was unmatched anywhere. Angels were everywhere, day and night. Maybe I should have believed Chaplain Steve when he told me R was receiving the best care imaginable and that every doctor, nurse, and technician involved with his care was not only providing the best care available but also praying as hard as our family that R would survive.
It is common knowledge that medical professionals, receive exhausting, intensive, incredible training. They are no doubt extremely talented, and extremely intelligent regardless of where they are educated and complete clinical training. They also work diligently to apply those learned skills to assist their patients. But what isn't taught in all those classes and clinicals, is the content and quality of one's heart. The Angels had hearts full of love and compassion, caring and insight, and they applied all those traits with the same skill and talent that they applied their medical knowledge. I know there were times when R didn't know which Angel was caring for him, but watching each of them, it was incredibly obvious to me and my family, that the Angels weren't going to rest until R was saved. The Angels began calling R the Miracle Man. If my son was indeed a miracle, then surely the Angles were sent from God to care for him and were equally miraculous. Chaplain Steve told us that God had a greater purpose for R. That purpose would never have been possible without the Angels.
Day and night, the Angels were there caring for R but also caring for his family. Whether information was needed, medications or procedures explained, immediate care requested, blankets, sleeping accommodations, or refreshments desired, the Angels were always there to provide, often times without asking. As days turned to weeks, it wasn't uncommon for the Angles to visit R on days off. And, when R was finally transferred out of ICU, the Angels were frequent visitors first in his Med/Surge room, and finally in his Rehab room. That kind of care and attention is well beyond basic nursing, even trauma care. It speaks to the character and soul of this particular group of ICU nurses.
There were too many indicators of above and beyond normal care to list individually, but everyone one of them, even those small and seemingly insignificant were heartfelt and gave all of us in our family a sense of comfort and hope despite R's poor condition.
Today, R is home and recovering at a rate we didn't think possible, due in no small part to the Angels of ICU.
I am convinced that R is here with us today due in no small part to the talented, loving work of these Angels. They truly are special people. In no small measure, they gave us back our son, our brother, nephew and friend. Maybe just as important in her young life they gave Baby S the chance to know Uncle R for many years to come.
Team Members honored with this DAISY TEAM Award:
Kelly Berthelsen, RN
Jen Charboneau, RN
Melissa Davey, RN
Diane Dembinski, RN
Cathy Diel, RN
Stephanie Dinse, RN
Christine Eisner, RN
Kristi Finger, RN
Jennifer Gates, RN
Kelly Gritzmacher, RN
Kate Gustrowsky, RN
Bonnie Matras, RN
Jennifer Merlet, RN
Jennifer Meyer, RN
Juliet Mock, RN
Elizabeth Mowbray, RN
Katy Powers, RN
Dali Ramos, RN
Deborah Reck, RN
Kim Richert, RN
Kurt Ritter, RN
Ashlee Scott, RN
Megan Seefeldt, RN
Ashley Stangel, RN
Tatyana Totten, RN
Amanda Zechzer, RN
Sonya Zuberbier, RN