My Paw Paw was moved to MSICU and the next morning we met Whitney. Whitney came in to see Paw Paw and was amazing. She was cheerful. She was patient not only with Paw Paw but with us as we had a billion questions. I was truly shocked to find out that he was not her only patient because she had a way of making us feel like we were her only concern. Paw Paw spent 2 days in MSICU and we were fortunate to have Whitney both days. I spent those days in the room with him and I can say in full honesty that she made him smile which was huge. When she would leave the room, he would tell me how nice she was and when he was finally discharged to home with hospice care he asked if she could be his hospice nurse and come to the house to keep taking care of him. Now I know you're thinking that the above is nothing extraordinary for a nurse and I'm sure there are many nurses that have the same demeanor as Whitney but keep reading and I think you will agree with me when you're done.
The second day in MSICU I spoke with each doctor to be told by each of them that he was not a candidate for surgery or chemo and that we needed to think about palliative care and hospice. I was the only family member there when all of this was said and thankfully I had Whitney bedside me. She listened when I vented about my frustrations at now having to be the one to break the news to the rest of the family. She offered to help me in any way I wanted to get this monumental task done. When I told her that I knew my mother-in-law would not be able to tell her father all of this and that I didn't think I could do it, she didn't hesitate to tell me that she would tell him for us if we wanted her to.
When I bombarded her with even more questions about hospice and what our next steps would be, she patiently explained to me step by step what would happen. When it came time to tell Paw Paw about his condition and make sure he understood what was going on, she handled it better than I could have ever imagined. She was kind without mincing words. She spoke to him as if he were her own grandfather, with dignity and respect. She took on a burden that we couldn't have managed and I honestly don't know what we would have done without her. I don't know if she has had that conversation a thousand times or if she just has a gift, whatever, it is she was amazing. While this has been a hard and stressful situation to deal with, having Whitney there made it bearable.
She is an amazing nurse and St. Francis should feel lucky that she chooses to work there. She was a blessing when we needed one most and I have no doubt that her treatment of our Paw Paw is the same treatment she provides to all her patients and their families.