My dad was brought here in January. He had fallen in December. A few weeks later, he started going out of his mind and acting abnormally. By the time his doctor's office and home health gave us any direction, he had slipped into a deep sleep.

When I got to the ER after the ambulance brought him up Cheri came out to talk to me and she was so kind. She told me even though Dad and I spent every day together I’d have to wait for his negative Covid test to come back before I could see him and she told me he was very sick, which I figured. She said if I had something else to do in the meantime, to do it. She went back to the ER and I started to leave. Before I made it out the first set of doors she had come to tell me he had coded and to come back.

Of course, the room was filled with so many people and machines and the CPR machine was thumping his chest. The doctor was talking to me and I tried to call my mom and finally got through to her. They gave him a shock and he came around. This of course was TV stuff, not something I’d ever endured during real life. I don’t know if you’re a religious person, but before he came back to, of course, I was shaking. I asked God if he wanted him to stay then let him, if not take him.

My dad had bypass surgery in 2012 and was put into a coma for over a week so he could heal because when they were finishing his surgery his aorta shredded like wet cardboard. The doctor told us that night it would be a miracle if he lived through the night. A lot of those patients either died on the table or within a few years. Dad made it almost 10. He had terrible arthritis and kidney disease along with heart failure. I knew he was a mess and was tired of living in such misery. I talked to Cheri and told her that he really would not be happy living on machines and medication. I called my mom and we decided to let him go.

It was a terribly hard thing but such is life and I hope my family could decide the same for me. She talked to the doctor about it and came out and got me. The doctor asked if this was really what we wanted and I said yes. Of course, you look back over all the years you’ve had with your dad and really don’t want him to leave you, your mom, or your children, but you don’t want the suffering to continue either. The doctor told the other girls in the room to turn things off. Cheri told me to go stand with Dad. I held his hand and put my other on his shoulder. I’ll never forget his face as long as I live. I honestly think he was already gone but I had those few minutes to talk to him.

It’s hard to tell this story even now, but I wouldn’t have made it through that terrible day without Cheri. I don’t know if she was beside me the whole time or how long the other people may have been in the room. After he was gone though she was there. She gave me a hug and talked to me and asked me where I wanted him to go. She told me to stay as long as I needed. She was truly an angel to me on one of the most difficult days of my life. No amount of thanks could even come close to the comfort she gave me. I appreciate her and think she deserves recognition.