The night in the emergency department had already been rough. Three patients had died in one room, including a few day-old baby. The medical team struggled to make sense of this as they took care of their other patients. And then around 3 AM, a comfort care patient was brought in because her spouse could not accept that she was actually dying.
Alicia Liang was the RN for the room and she connected with the patient's husband. The story that he told Alicia was that, around midnight, the patient made a turn for the worse. He called the hospice nurse who walked him through potential causes for her illness. He then panicked and called 911. The ambulance brought the patient into the ED and the patient was placed in the room beside the "cursed room." The patient's husband was given a chair so he could sit at her bedside while the team determined the best steps to take. The patient had been in the ICU for a few weeks recently, was now at death's door, and there was nothing that could be done to add to her life. Alicia listened compassionately to the patient's husband's story and he explained his thought process. The couple had been married for over 50 years and the thought of living without his wife was too much to imagine. Alicia came by him, squatted down to his level, held his hand as he continued his story. The vent and medication were all that was keeping the patient alive.
The husband decided that he needed to call his children to get their input before he made the final decision to turn everything off. Alicia promised to be with her while he was outside talking with his children. After the phone calls, he returned to the patient's room and said that his kids agreed that it was time to let her go. However, the patient's husband asked for a final 30 minutes to be with the patient before the team extubated the patient. Alicia went to the ED doctor and advocated for the husband so he could have that final 30 minutes. Alicia and the rest of the team gave them half an hour plus a few minutes, only checking on the patient as necessary. As the husband was in talking with the patient, he said from time to time how much of the 30 minutes were left. After the time passed, Alicia asked the husband if he was ready to extubate and turn off the medication. Reluctantly, he said he was. Before she was extubated, though, the husband asked if Alicia would be in the room until she died and then call him to inform him of her death. He was not able to be there till the end, so Alicia said she would be. By this time, Alicia's shift had come to an end. She updated the relieving RN on what was happening with her patients. Alicia, then went and clocked out and returned to the room until the patient died. She called the husband and informed him that she had died.
When I have a loved one dying in the hospital, I would certainly want a nurse like Alicia to be there because of her compassion, dedication, follow-through, and her skill. Alicia is a true DAISY Nurse.