My father, fell last fall, badly breaking his right arm. This event turned him from an independent 91-year-old man to a person completely dependent on care because without the use of both arms, he could no longer get out of bed without assistance.

After an 8-day stay in the hospital and two days in rehab facility, my father was rushed to Missouri Baptist as his blood pressure was low, his oxygen was low, and he was vomiting bile. He was diagnosed with a bowel blockage, stabilized, and moved to ICU. His overnight nurse was Erica. She worked diligently with my brother who stayed with him, to keep him comfortable through the night. The day nurse was Michael, who was equally diligently with me in trying to keep Dad comfortable and educate me about his condition. 

As the shift change began, Michael and Erica conferred and then sought out my brother and me. They shared difficult news – “your father is failing, and he may not make it through the night; you might want to consider comfort measures.” We were in complete shock, our dad has a broken arm and a bowel blockage, we were expected to send him back to rehab, not for him to die. 

This extremely direct conversation allowed us to have a beautiful 24 hours with our father before he died. These nurses arranged for us to have a family conference with the doctor, stood by us when we talked to our father about his options, and then went to great lengths to provide him care and comfort inside a busy ICU unit. They arranged for us to meet with a social worker and prepared him for safe transport to a hospice facility, where he died 5 hours later.

The last 24 hours we had with our father were priceless. He rallied, his blood pressure stabilized, he got to eat some of his favorite foods, offer some advice to his children and grandchildren, visit with his spiritual leader, and be moved to a non-hospital setting for his last hours. We nominate Erica and Michael for their compassionate nursing, their ability to speak honestly and lovingly to our family, and be concerned about our needs, and for ensuring my father’s last 24 hours were filled with love, laughter and family – rather than tubes and pain.