My father was suffering from a heart attack while away on his annual hunting trip. He had called 911, and during the hour and a half call it took for rescuers to get to him, he passed. The EMTs were able to revive him and transported him to Lynchburg General. Since he had a history of health issues and now this was the 3rd heart attack he was placed in the Cardiac ICU. The responding officer made a midnight call to my oldest daughter, and I was informed of the incident and the emergent care he needed. We are not local to the area, we live about 3 hours away. With both of my high school students in tow and rushing to get my mother, we were off to be at Dad's side.

Once we arrived at the hospital my mother was informed of the care he would need and the lengthy stay it could turn out to be. Once Dad was settled in and placed on the Cardiac ICU floor, we met Cheryl. She was the nurse that was assigned to Dad the first few days. My mother, being a nurse herself, was able to quickly make acquaintances with Cheryl and the other nursing staff. It was so reassuring to her to see the care that my dad was getting from all the staff. Cheryl made sure to get paperwork/ phone calls made for us to stay at a nearby inn. It was a small hotel run for families that have family members in the ICU so they can be nearby. This was such a blessing to have since we were so far away.

Over the next few days, as many experience, there were highs and lows in his progress. We had all felt hopeful that maybe he’d pull through this one too. Dad had a history of injuries from his prior heart attacks to a mugging in the Bahamas which lead to a craniotomy and then had his knees and rotator cup replacements. This wasn’t going to be any different. These were just our normal steps. At the hospital and then bam – he’s back to himself. Giving the staff a hard time and telling jokes and then homeward bound. Cheryl and her staff always greeted Dad by name when they came into the room like he was awake and explained all steps they were going to do for him. As a daughter, I was both relieved and thankful that staff was still treating him like a person, someone’s father, an injured man, and not like a number.

By Thursday the CT scan and EEG had shown us there was no brain activity and things had turned for the worst. Even though he was still able to breathe on his own, his reactions to our visits were no longer there, his facial grimaces when he was feeling pain had subsided, and his feet and hands had now started to turn inward. All of these are signs of being brain dead or severe brain trauma. Never at any time did Cheryl not greet us with a warm hello and an update on what was happening. Since COVID was a factor for the staff/hospital visitors, all of my family was ever so grateful to get updates from her directly. It took the pressure off of whichever family member was there. The pressure of not giving the right information or forgetting a test result etc. Mom would go into nurse mode when doctors would come in and other staff, but then go into wife/mom mode and act like it was knowledge we should have known and understood when medical staff left the room.

So when Cheryl was near or in the room at rounds she always made it a point to “dumbie it down” or respond to us about what was happening in plain English. This was so helpful to all of us, but especially for my children. They are the only grandchildren and my dad was such a huge part of their lives, it was a blessing to have Cheryl explain things to them as well and any questions they had they could ask. When the time was growing nearer to having to make a decision on how to proceed, Cheryl made sure that all the steps were in place and that Dad could make his final good deed. He had wanted to donate his organs to someone else in need. All paperwork was filled out and final goodbyes were said.

Cheryl made arrangements to be with Dad until his last breath. This was such a comfort to us all that he wouldn’t be alone. The hospital staff prepared and made sure to make us aware this could be a short stint off machines and assistance or he could fight. All internal organs are needed in the first hour off any medical assistance but other parts could be harvested. My mother and sister walked by Dad's side as they wheeled him to the OR. They were so moved by the staff's presence and tribute to my dad. All the staff had lined the halls to say their final goodbyes and honor him in his last gift. Like a true stubborn old man that Dad was, he hung on for 8 hours. He was breathing on his own until his heart could take no more. They were able to harvest his blue eyes and tissue for those in need. Cheryl made the call to mom that he had passed.

One of the fondest memories my children have of Papa was painting his nails. He had raised 4 daughters so this wasn’t anything new to him. It didn’t matter the color the polish was, if the girls wanted to practice on him they could. He would sport blue, yellow, and many times pink toenails in his slides all summer. He wore it proudly because the girls did it. As a final request, once we all were aware that things weren’t going to end as they had before, my girls asked Cheryl if they could paint his toes again just one last time. All the staff we had were wonderful and caring, however, Cheryl just stood out as a beautiful gem to us. She was so helpful and kind throughout her chaotic days and never seemed bothered when we needed information or had questions. She was our angel during a tumultuous and heartbreaking time for us -and for that, she will never be forgotten.