Michael Tessier
November 2022
Michael
Tessier
,
RN
Renal Dialysis Unit
Berkshire Medical Center
North Adams
,
MA
United States

 

 

 

Michael supported him in his bravery and even offered to take him fishing the following day if he felt up to it
Last week, a patient who receives dialysis in North Adams was admitted to BMC. After workup, it was realized that he had reached a time to make end of life decisions. The doctor helped the patient to make a decision to stop dialysis and go home with Hospice support. When Michael Tessier heard this news, he was deeply saddened and took it upon himself to visit the patient, on his day off, prior to his discharge from BMC. They relayed that Michael sat with the patient while staff prepared for his discharge and let him talk about his decision and how he felt. Michael supported him in his bravery and even offered to take him fishing the following day if he felt up to it as they had talked about sharing this activity at some point but had never made a firm plan. They walked with the patient to the main entrance and assisted him into his family member's car. Michael was deeply impacted by this interaction and later received a message from our patient's sister informing him of her brother's passing and thanking him for taking the time to visit and expressing how much it had meant to her brother and to all of her family.