August 2017
Daniel
Weeks
,
RN
ICU
Cheyenne Regional Medical Center
Cheyenne
,
WY
United States
My mom was admitted to the ICU from the Emergency Room. Dan was the RN assigned to my mom when he came in to work the night shift in the ICU. He allowed my dad to stay the night, and I met him around 2100 when I came to say goodnight to my mom and dad. He explained to me what had gone on since I had last seen her, and made me feel welcome. I ended up heading home to get some sleep but had to come back to the hospital around midnight because my mom wasn't doing well. When I returned to the room, my mom was getting another blood pressure medication, which Dan explained to me when I got there. Every time he would walk by me, he would place a hand on my back, arm or shoulder to let me know that he was walking by me, but that I didn't need to move. My mom ended up not responding to the medication and started going downhill and Dan let us know when that was happening. From that point on, he never left the room. He was constantly checking the machines, checking my mom's tubes, and making sure that there weren't any complications. My mom then started to fade very quickly. My father, family who was there, and I sat next to her bedside just watching her blood pressure fall. Dan came over and checked for her heartbeat, and let us know that the pulse we saw on the machine was just her heart still having some electrical activity. Every day since I have thought about Dan and how he helped my mom as much as he could. His actions and positive influence have led me to return to school to become a nurse myself.