Jessica White
January 2022
Jessica L
White
,
RN
Critical Care
Nebraska Methodist Hospital
Omaha
,
NE
United States
Jessica was an incredible support for my mom. She came into the room and got down on her knees as my mom wept over the decision.
My dad lost his battle with COVID. Jessica was one of his primary nurses for most of the month he was in the ICU. On the evening we were set to turn the ventilator off we found out he was an organ donor. With this information, we were also told that, in order to accomplish this, we would have to keep the ventilator on for another 24 hours while they did the testing and matching. My mother was devastated. After watching him fight and suffer for a month we were prepared for his end of life. So when faced with the prospect of extending that by another 24 hours was almost more than we could bear. After agonizing over the decision to prolong his suffering for another 24 hours my mom was still on the fence simply because she didn't want to make him suffer any longer.
Jessica and my mom had developed a strong relationship over the course of the month. She was an incredible support for my mom. She came into the room and got down on her knees as my mom wept over the decision. She looked her in the eyes and promised that she would do everything in her power to make him comfortable for that 24 hours; even to the point of re-arranging her work schedule to be back in the morning to ensure this promise was kept. She honored that promise to the fullest of her ability.
I stayed with my dad in the hospital that night and was there in the morning when she came back in for her shift. She had already worked past the end of her shift the night before but she was resilient and committed to our family and to my dad's care the entire time. It made all the difference in getting us over the finish line and enabling us to honor his choice to be a donor. He was able to donate his organs as a result. It was a beautiful end to our tragedy. We can't thank her enough.
***
She helped me so much throughout the organ donation process and kept my husband comfortable during that 24-hour wait process. I am a nurse myself, but in this situation, I was the wife, and Jessica helped me to remember that I did not have to be a nurse that day and could just be my husband's wife. I am indebted to her for that. It was what I needed to be and she helped me to do that.
Jessica and my mom had developed a strong relationship over the course of the month. She was an incredible support for my mom. She came into the room and got down on her knees as my mom wept over the decision. She looked her in the eyes and promised that she would do everything in her power to make him comfortable for that 24 hours; even to the point of re-arranging her work schedule to be back in the morning to ensure this promise was kept. She honored that promise to the fullest of her ability.
I stayed with my dad in the hospital that night and was there in the morning when she came back in for her shift. She had already worked past the end of her shift the night before but she was resilient and committed to our family and to my dad's care the entire time. It made all the difference in getting us over the finish line and enabling us to honor his choice to be a donor. He was able to donate his organs as a result. It was a beautiful end to our tragedy. We can't thank her enough.
***
She helped me so much throughout the organ donation process and kept my husband comfortable during that 24-hour wait process. I am a nurse myself, but in this situation, I was the wife, and Jessica helped me to remember that I did not have to be a nurse that day and could just be my husband's wife. I am indebted to her for that. It was what I needed to be and she helped me to do that.