Lindsey Mikels
March 2021
Lindsey
Mikels
,
RN, BSN
Medical/Palliative Care
Franciscan Health Western Indiana
Lindsey would hold my hand, cry with me, and also tell me the cold, hard truths as death waited in our room.
Has someone ever been so kind to you that you just knew it had to be a facade? There is no way this can be real? When D and I embarked on the heart-wrenching trip to the palliative care unit, I was heartbroken knowing that D's days on earth were dwindling rapidly. I knew this was our last trek in the hospital with only one sad way out. And then I met Lindsey Mikels. She was D's nurse for several days. She was so very kind. Her voice is so calming that I just knew her sweet demeanor had to be an act. No one could really be this nice, could they? She would hold my hand, cry with me, and also tell me the cold, hard truths as death waited in our room. She informed me of how D's body would break down and change. She also listened to me so thoroughly.
When I became fearful that D would awaken, she monitored him carefully and would tell me that what I was witnessing was normal and that he could feel no pain. She would call in another nurse for an opinion/advice (I know to comfort me . . . she knew what was what). Lindsey would encourage me to sit on D's bed. She told me to talk to him because we can't know what the patient can hear and understand. She even encouraged me to lay with D as he "slept" if I wanted to.
When she treated D in the middle of the night, and I would watch her work, she always talked to me. She always treated me as if I mattered, as if D mattered . . . even though we both knew the ultimate outcome. She told me what she was doing, what medications were being given, and why. She always asked me if I had any questions. It didn't matter the hour. When I questioned small movements and/or changes in D's state, she would quietly, calmly, and comfortingly explain the medical reasons for said movements and changes.
On Lindsey's last day with us, she told me that when she returned, we would not be here. She was right. D died a couple of days later. Lindsey really IS this nice. She is kind in a career that doesn't have happy, healing outcomes. How she keeps her head up and continues to treat patients and families so kindly escapes me. Lindsey Mikels is the real deal. While D has been gone, Lindsey's kindness ways will live in me forever. She has new patients to care for, but I will forever care for Lindsey and the dignity she provided D and me in his final days.
When I became fearful that D would awaken, she monitored him carefully and would tell me that what I was witnessing was normal and that he could feel no pain. She would call in another nurse for an opinion/advice (I know to comfort me . . . she knew what was what). Lindsey would encourage me to sit on D's bed. She told me to talk to him because we can't know what the patient can hear and understand. She even encouraged me to lay with D as he "slept" if I wanted to.
When she treated D in the middle of the night, and I would watch her work, she always talked to me. She always treated me as if I mattered, as if D mattered . . . even though we both knew the ultimate outcome. She told me what she was doing, what medications were being given, and why. She always asked me if I had any questions. It didn't matter the hour. When I questioned small movements and/or changes in D's state, she would quietly, calmly, and comfortingly explain the medical reasons for said movements and changes.
On Lindsey's last day with us, she told me that when she returned, we would not be here. She was right. D died a couple of days later. Lindsey really IS this nice. She is kind in a career that doesn't have happy, healing outcomes. How she keeps her head up and continues to treat patients and families so kindly escapes me. Lindsey Mikels is the real deal. While D has been gone, Lindsey's kindness ways will live in me forever. She has new patients to care for, but I will forever care for Lindsey and the dignity she provided D and me in his final days.