After leaving ICU and being on the ventilator, my mother was moved to the 6th floor. Within a few days, she developed PRES syndrome and went almost a week without being able to move anything but her eyes and feet. My mother would not follow commands or respond to anything we said. She continued with these symptoms for almost a week and her physicians began discussing comfort measures and palliative care. The doctors were very confused about her condition and kept attempting MRIs. My mother is very claustrophobic and many of the MRIs were unsuccessful. That is when her nurse, Jonathan, stepped in and had transport wait on a sedative to kick-in before taking her down to MRI. This nurse even came to our room and helped with my mom, even when she was not his patient.
After a week of no improvement, we decided to play some of my mom's favorite songs to see if she would respond. It worked!! She started singing along and moving her feet to the music. Day by day, she began singing and moving more and more. After noticing the impact of the music, this nurse brought my mom a wireless speaker because he wanted the patient to be able to hear the music even louder. He even brought the speaker to her room on his day off!
Every day we play music for my mom, we see more progression. She no longer has the feeding tube during the day, no IVs, and PT now has her up and standing. Our family truly believes that Jonathan's actions and special gift played a HUGE role in her recovery. When we turn on the wireless speaker each day, she lights up and is the happiest we have seen her since she was admitted.
Jonathan Tester has been a shining star to our family. He deserves all the recognition that is available. The 6th floor is great, and Jonathan is one of a kind!
Congratulations, Jonathan, our March 2019 DAISY Honoree.