The family member of two Heyman HospiceCare patients describes Terra Jones as a "beautiful, angelic nurse."
The daughter of the patient said Terra formed an instant bond with her father the first day she visited him at their home. When Terra learned her new patient was a football fan, the two started sharing team facts and football history. The patient's daughter said Terra showed her father respect for what he knew and did not pity because he was sick, building a bridge of trust between them.
"We had never seen our dad sick, so all of this was new and very scary to us," said the patient's daughter. "Terra was always patient and reassuring of our doubts."
Terra also coached the patient's wife to talk to her husband, sharing all that he needed to hear, and all that was on her heart.
"Mom did just that," she said. "What a beautiful farewell message she spoke. It was funny, yet sweet and unforgettable. She told him how much she loved him and yet she was mad at him for going first; but for him to go on ahead, meet Jesus, and watch for her because she would be coming soon. 'It won't be long,' she firmly stated, 'I am right behind you.'"
The day after her patient died, his wife fell and hit her head, sustaining a massive brain bleed. She also became a Heyman HospiceCare patient. Terra visited the family in the hospital, this time not as a nurse, but as a friend, and the gentleman's wife fulfilled her promise to her husband, passing just one week after her husband.
"To our family, Terra was not just a nurse, a medical professional, or a family advocate. We were not just another family with a dying loved one. We were people in need, and she was our angel. Our vessel of mercy," the patient's daughter said. "She was our DAISY."