On Monday, December 28th Brooke Haddix, BSN, RN, CCRN received report on her patient. She learned her patient was in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) for end stage heart failure and had recently been told that he was not a candidate for any advanced therapy. He was made a DNR status and it became clear to Brooke that he would likely not leave the hospital. The plan for the day was to readmit the patient to Hospice in Place and, although he desperately wanted to go home or even move to a Hospice closer to home, his condition would not allow this.
Upon her morning assessment the patient told Brooke that what he wanted most of all was to be able to marry his fiancé before he died. His fiancé echoed this wish and Brooke got busy. She called the Alachua County Court House and learned that in order to waive the three day waiting period, the fiancé would have to make several trips to the court house collecting signatures just to request a waiver from a judge.
During this time the Haven Hospice nurse arrived to assess and consent the patient. The Hospice RN stated that she was good friend with a County Judge. The Judge was contacted and agreed to facilitate waiving the waiting period. The patient's fiancé went to the Court House to get the forms; unfortunately, the forms required notarization. Brooke called all around the hospital and finally located a notary who was visiting the in-house Credit Union Branch. The notary came to the bedside and provided free service for the couple. Another trip to the Court House by the fiancé and all the necessary paper work was completed.
While caring for her patient, discharging and readmitting him to Hospice in Place, Brooke was planning a wedding. Enlisting the help of those around her Brooke, along with Savannah Henderson, Alex Mikhak, and Sandra Garcia decorated the room, designed and created a veil and dress, and provided flowers.
Occupational and Physical therapy team members, Dessie Baker and Emily Youse purchased a ring from the gift shop. Brooke asked the dietary representative to provide a cake.
That evening, fifteen family members gathered, bringing food, sparkling cider, balloons and flowers. The patient, though too weak to stand, was moved to a slide chair and presented with a boutonniere. His bride looked beautiful in her makeshift gown and veil. The Alachua County Judge arrived to marry the couple and a reception was held in the CICU conference room following the ceremony.
The patient passed away two days after the ceremony. What Brooke did for this patient and his wife embodies the AACN's Synergy Model particularly caring practices, advocacy/moral agency, and systems thinking. Caring practices are a constellation of nursing activities that are responsive to the uniqueness of the patient and the patient's family and create a compassionate and therapeutic environment with the aim of promoting comfort and preventing suffering. Brooke was responsive to her patient's unique and changing needs and her care created a compassionate environment, which ensured that his end-of-life needs were met.
Brooke knows no boundaries when it comes to accomplishing a task, even in the face of great adversity. She is both a fierce patient advocate and a thoughtful caregiver. There is tremendous joy in thinking of the needs of others and we are proud to have Brooke as a caring team member in CICU.