I understand that these are trying times for all of us, and especially for those of you in the health care industry. I would like to share a story about a member of your staff at MCR that has left a lasting effect on my heart, and will always be so appreciated by my family in an impossible time. My elderly father, who was to us the most special man God ever created, was taken to your ER by ambulance on Monday evening, from a local nursing care facility. He and my mother resided there for 2 ½ long years. My brother and I moved them there while he was in Hospice care with one month to live. He was amazing and survived insurmountable odds. Aptly we dubbed him the "cat man" as he had at least 9 lives, and he loved his cats.
We were told of your regulations because of COVID-19, and my brother and I struggled to decide which of us would be with him in your ER. Neither one of us had seen either of our parents, except through a window, for over 5 weeks at this time. I tearfully told my brother to go. He called me regularly keeping me updated on what was happening until our father was admitted to the 4th floor. Then, of course, no one could see him.
All day Tuesday we called the nurses' station, but there was no information until the doctor would call us. We were told he would. We waited, and waited, and waited. The doctor never called. We were frantic not knowing what was happening to our father who was so frail and broken. Wednesday came and my brother received a call from my father's nurse named Lindsay. Apparently, she was listening to us all day Tuesday and this amazing young two-year nurse had arranged for 2 four day passes to visit our dying father. Again, we struggled. Our mother was still quarantined at the long term care facility, and we wanted her to be with our father as well. After much discussion, my brother and I came to the conclusion that because we needed to talk to the doctor and make some decisions that our mother was not able to make, it should be him and me. Our doctor gave us the information that we needed to make the correct decisions based on what we knew to be our father's wishes. He listened intently as we shared. He responded appropriately and we are grateful to him. We were able to spend the morning with our father while continuing to ask Lindsay for our mother to be included. Based on his rapid decline, we knew he had little time left with us.
We believe in the Almighty God, and we believe that Lindsay was sent to us for our father, by our Father. This amazing young nurse pushed and pushed and arranged for our mother to join us. Finally, we could all be together to love, honor, and say goodbye, for now, to our beloved father. We were able to spend all day and evening with him. The whole time we were there he was unresponsive, except for when our mother entered the room. He fluttered his eyes when she spoke to him. We told stories. We laughed. We cried. We prayed. And we know he heard.
Even when our next nurse came on duty, Lindsay stayed for a while longer holding our father's hand. Then she gave me the biggest hug I've had in a long time, and then tearfully said goodbye. Our father went to his eternal home early the next day. We will be forever grateful to Lindsay for fighting for us to spend those few remaining precious moments as a family with our very special father.
She is not only an RN - she takes her nurse's oath seriously and cares for her patients. Not just their physical needs, but also their emotional and support needs. I hope she maintains that tenacity as her nursing journey continues. She is special! Thank you for taking the time to read my story.