On Thursday, my wife was taken to the hospital and the doctors and nurses that worked on her were wonderful. Her vitals were not good. Her kidneys were failing, and the doctor decided she needed dialysis. They were going to insert a dialysis catheter when her breathing became labored. They had to kick me out of the room to intubate her. After waiting in the hallway, (crying) for a very long time, I asked if there was any way that I could find out what was going on in that room. The nurse came out to talk to me. She said that it would be a while until they would be finished, that I should go home, let my dogs out, and return for visitation because my wife would be up in her room when I returned. The afternoon was so upsetting, I was emotionally exhausted when I got home, I accidentally fell asleep and woke up at 9pm, after visiting hours had ended. I was so upset!! I called to speak with the nurses to find out an update on my wife. She had been put in the unit and there were NO visitors allowed in there. I was not expecting that I would not be able to visit, which upset me even more because I never got to speak to her before they sedated and intubated her.

The next day my sister called to see if there was ANY way that I could get in to visit her for even just 5 minutes. She was told NO, but I could FaceTime my wife. Later in the day, I called and spoke with the unit Nursing Supervisor. She was amazing, working with Angie to make sure that I got to speak to my wife. Angie used her personal phone in order to make this happen. As I spoke to my wife, she made sure that I was able to see her and that she had the phone close enough so she could hear me, even though she was sedated. At some point, I must have said something that made Angie ask, at the end of the phone call, what had happened. When I explained that I had not gotten a chance to say anything before they intubated her, Angie was so upset that she told me that she was going to see if there was anything she could do and she would call me back. She knew how dire the situation was (even though I didn't) as she knew all of my wife's systems were failing. She went above and beyond to make sure that I got a chance to see my wife and say my goodbyes before she passed away. She knew that due to covid, visitors were not allowed in the unit so as not to put those patients at risk of getting covid. However, Angie spoke to her supervisors, and since all the procedures were done for the day and the patients had been moved into their rooms, she was given permission to have me come in to see my wife. When I got there, I cannot even tell you how wonderful Angie was to me. She let me stay, answered all of my questions, explained what was going on, and made sure I was comfortable. She was so compassionate and caring, she truly cared about what I was going through. When her shift ended she made sure to stop by to see if I needed anything before she left. I had expected only to be able to stay for 5-10 minutes, but I got to spend an extra night with my wife that I wouldn't have gotten to if it wasn't for Angie. What a blessing that was, as she passed away the next day.

Without Angie's care and compassion, I would not have gotten to say my goodbyes to my wife before she died. I would have lived the rest of my life, knowing she passed by herself, without me by her side. I cannot put into words how blessed I was that Angie just happened to be next to the Nursing Supervisor that day when I called. Who knows what would have happened if she had not been there? Please know that she is truly a blessing and an asset to your hospital. The day that my wife passed, I found out that Angie had been texting with the nurse all day, even though it was her day off, to see how my wife was doing. Again, what an amazing nurse you have on staff.