A few weeks ago I was paged to the ICU by Jayme as there was going to be a withdrawal of life support. The patient had been a resident of a local long-term care facility for a number of years, during which he came into AMCO regularly for wound care and other healthcare needs. A caregiver from his residence came to see him in the hospital every day, and otherwise, he did not have visitors. Jayme wanted to make sure he wasn't alone in his passing so she called for a chaplain. During the hour and a half I was there, many people came and went, caring for the patient. One person used to work at his residence and told of knowing him for years. Jayme called another RN from wound care, and she came down and called him by his nickname, talked about getting to know him over these past years, and spread her laughter and memories amidst the disconnected tubes and medical equipment in the ICU room. In his living will the patient had written that he liked 70's rock music and wanted that playing, so Jayme had a playlist going on the laptop.
Through it all, Jayme switched from her role of helping to cure and moved into providing all the comfort she could. She kept tending to him, washing his face, making him comfortable, making his room neat and tidy. Sometimes we sang along, sometimes we were just silently together with him. Time was passing, and his heart was still going, although not beating in a meaningful, life-giving way. We decided maybe he needed a Stairway to Heaven to help him along his journey, so Jayme played the Led Zepplin classic. Sure enough, he took that Stairway and died in peace and comfort. Right after he passed, his caregiver/friend from his residence came back and Jayme was able to tell her he had died comfortably, with people who cared.
Note: This is Jayme's 3rd DAISY Award!