My wife was a dedicated Mayo staff member for over 30 years and recently passed away. She was diagnosed with metastatic Breast cancer, and she felt so grateful for her Mayo care team and felt she always had the best care possible. This is an example of why my wife was so proud to work for Mayo! When the treatment stopped working, she transitioned to hospice care. We live in the country but were very happy to be able to continue hospice care through the La Crosse team. That is where we met Nurse Jackie Marcou.

Things escalated very quickly regarding my wife’s health after treatment stopped. Between our hospice referral and admission, her mobility went from being able to ambulate with a cane to needing a walker with heavy assistance literally overnight. The pain also escalated drastically at the same time. We had received a referral for hospice admission that Wednesday, but the admission team wasn’t coming until Monday. The weekend was very stressful dealing with getting her pain under control, toileting and getting to/from the bed was a major chore for us. We didn’t really know what or how to do it and were overwhelmed.

We were very happy when Nurse Jackie showed up on Monday for the admission. She was so understanding and helped explain the process and how they could help. She helped get the medications adjusted immediately to help deal with the pain. She got a lift chair ordered and a toilet raiser to help with that process, which was also very helpful. But the most compassionate part was how she treated my ailing wife. We have been unable to bathe/shower since Thursday due to mobility issues and worry about getting in/out of the shower. Jackie noticed this and offered to help my wife take a shower. She also helped her walk to the bathroom. She patiently supported her while she walked and commented on how “strong” her arms were with the walker. She also commented on how good she was doing walking with it. This made my wife feel better about her situation. She helped my wife shower with the help of a shower chair we had, and Jackie got drenched in the process.

She also noticed that my wife’s toenails could use some trimming and offered to help with that as well. She combed her hair and put lotion on her legs and arms. It made my wife feel so refreshed and cared for after such a long, stressful weekend. We are so thankful for Nurse Jackie’s extra caring touch and for taking the time to give such nice compliments to boost my wife’s self-esteem. It really made a difference in how my wife felt in her remaining days.