Christine Bode
April 2021
Christine
Bode
,
BSN, RN, CMSRN
CVICU
TriHealth, Bethesda North Hospital
Cincinnati
,
OH
United States
this nurse helped the little girl put on a gown and gloves and then enter her Mom’s room with a big smile and a cheery, “Hi Mom!”... a little girl sharing potentially some last sweet moments with her mother.
She displayed one of the most precious acts of compassionate care we have seen even with the amount of compassion and death that we recently observed during the Covid crisis.
She has been taking care of a 45-year-old woman who has been a resident in an ECF for the last 2 years after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. At baseline, she is awake and alert. She is a wife and the mother of an 8-year-old girl. This woman was recently found unresponsive at the ECF for an undetermined amount of time. She was admitted to our unit post respiratory arrest requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation. She remains unresponsive. The patient’s husband is struggling to make end-of-life decisions. Palliative Care and Ethics were consulted to assist. The 8-year old frequently visits her mom in the ECF and is quite used to seeing her mom cared for by nursing staff. The husband requested to have the daughter visit her mom in the hospital. The husband, however, could not bring their daughter because the situation was too emotional for him to bear. The patient’s room is full of pictures and cards from the little girl. The husband also brings in a video every day of her saying good morning to her mom and sharing the events of the past day. This nurse immediately understood how important and precious this visit could be to the patient and her daughter. As we all understand, the Covid hospital visiting policy is strict for good reason. Although she initially received some pushback, this nurse worked through the chain of command to arrange for the daughter to have a quick visit with her mom. On the morning of the visit, this nurse helped the little girl put on a gown and gloves and then enter her Mom’s room with a big smile and a cheery, “Hi Mom!” While standing on a stepstool, she started talking to her mom, singing her songs, danced and helped her Mom exercise her arms and hands. When her visit was over, she left with a great big smile on her face, thanked the nurse, and left our unit to return to school. How touching a gift our team witnessed during that visit – a little girl sharing potentially some last sweet moments with her mother. We all had tears in our eyes and joy in our hearts.
She has been taking care of a 45-year-old woman who has been a resident in an ECF for the last 2 years after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. At baseline, she is awake and alert. She is a wife and the mother of an 8-year-old girl. This woman was recently found unresponsive at the ECF for an undetermined amount of time. She was admitted to our unit post respiratory arrest requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation. She remains unresponsive. The patient’s husband is struggling to make end-of-life decisions. Palliative Care and Ethics were consulted to assist. The 8-year old frequently visits her mom in the ECF and is quite used to seeing her mom cared for by nursing staff. The husband requested to have the daughter visit her mom in the hospital. The husband, however, could not bring their daughter because the situation was too emotional for him to bear. The patient’s room is full of pictures and cards from the little girl. The husband also brings in a video every day of her saying good morning to her mom and sharing the events of the past day. This nurse immediately understood how important and precious this visit could be to the patient and her daughter. As we all understand, the Covid hospital visiting policy is strict for good reason. Although she initially received some pushback, this nurse worked through the chain of command to arrange for the daughter to have a quick visit with her mom. On the morning of the visit, this nurse helped the little girl put on a gown and gloves and then enter her Mom’s room with a big smile and a cheery, “Hi Mom!” While standing on a stepstool, she started talking to her mom, singing her songs, danced and helped her Mom exercise her arms and hands. When her visit was over, she left with a great big smile on her face, thanked the nurse, and left our unit to return to school. How touching a gift our team witnessed during that visit – a little girl sharing potentially some last sweet moments with her mother. We all had tears in our eyes and joy in our hearts.