My father-in-law was transported via EMS to the Emergency Department of UT Health Jacksonville. He had been ill for 3 weeks but was determined to stay at home. He began to experience severe pain Saturday morning and could no longer deny that he needed to be seen by a Physician. We discovered, upon his admission to the ED, that he had metastatic cancer that was “everywhere”.

Misty Wilburn was in the ED when we arrived. From the moment she found out that we desired Hospice Care, she sprang into action. My husband arrived before I did, but by the time I got there, she had already made arrangements for Hospice to come to the hospital to perform their evaluation. She sat with my father-in-law during the times that we had to leave the room to fill out paperwork. When we left for a few minutes to get something to eat, she continued to sit by his bedside. She talked to him and held his hand and assured him that he was not alone.

When we returned, my father-in-law had already been transferred to an in-patient room. Misty, along with other staff members, were in the room, seeing to his care. She ran interference with complicated family situations and helped clear the way for us to concentrate solely on my father-in-law. She arranged for a courtesy tray with snacks and drinks to be delivered to his room. She arranged for a meal tray for us. Misty's kindness and compassion, along with her supervisory skills provided so much peace and comfort to our family during a very stressful time. She has a heart of gold and went above and beyond for us. My husband was able to see his father pass without pain and with dignity and that is priceless. Misty gave us that gift. There is no way to pay that back, but I felt everyone should know about the angel that she is and how lucky we are that she was there for us.