Kathryn Conley
February 2021
Kathryn
Conley
,
RN
CVICU
Baptist Memorial Hospital - Memphis
Memphis
,
TN
United States
We live over an hour away and Kathryn drove on her day off to pick up pictures of me, my husband, and our two kids. She took them back to work and taped them on his bed so he could see his family.
Due to COVID-19, my husband was transferred to Baptist Memorial for more intensive care and possible ECMO. Because of Covid, I was not able to go visit him in the beginning of his stay there. He was intubated and eventually had to have a tracheostomy placed. As his wife, it was beyond painful not being able to be by his side. The nurse was one of the first nurses that immediately stood out to me as being one of the most kind, compassionate, and hardworking nurses. She selflessly cared for my husband and made sure that I was well informed every time she was working. Every shift that the nurse worked, she made sure that my husband saw our two kids and me through FaceTime. She would do this as many times as she could each shift. You could tell she tried to put herself in our position in her mind and she knew how isolating this experience felt. She helped get my husband a radio from the store for his room and would play his favorite music from her phone so that he could feel something familiar. My husband would call her in there just to have company and she would lovingly hold his hand to comfort him for as long as he needed. We live over an hour away and Kathryn drove on her day off to pick up pictures of me, my husband, and our two kids. She took them back to work and taped them on his bed so he could see his family. She went above and beyond to make sure that we were all informed every shift that she worked. She also updated me daily on when his isolation would be removed and when I could possibly come to visit. There was not one time that I felt her being stressed or frustrated with all that she had to deal with. She was always extremely kind, polite, compassionate, and respectful toward me. I will forever be grateful for God placing her in both of our lives. She would cheer my husband on every step of the way and was genuinely happy when he made improvements. Kathryn is a blessing to my family and will always be near to my heart!