Martha H Earthman - Fleming
September 2024
Martha H
Earthman - Fleming
,
BSN, RN
Medical Oncology
Barnes-Jewish Hospital
St Louis
,
MO
United States
As my MIL lost more and more of who she was in those terrible last weeks, Martha saw her as a person, not just a patient, and treated her as such.
There is an angel on Earth working in the Parkview Tower. Our family spent about two weeks between two hospital stays for my mother-in-law. Her cancer had returned with a vengeance, and her condition was rapidly declining. While everyone on that floor was amazing, Martha stood out. She didn’t just do her job… she took care of us as though we were guests in her home. It was unacceptable to her that I wouldn’t have proper bedding when I would stay the night. She would insist on making the pullout bed, in addition to taking fantastic care of my mother-in-law.
As you can imagine, my MIL was not herself in those days, not the most personable, though still sweet and polite. There was something about Martha that my mother-in-law just loved. When Martha would come in the room, My mother-in-law would give a smile, something we didn’t see often in those days. They were two peas in a pod. When Martha was on duty, I knew I could go home and not worry about whether my mother-in-law was speaking up for herself, letting the nursing staff know she was in pain.
Martha anticipated her needs; she taught us little tricks on how to help her keep her medicine down (tricks that were very helpful on the days we had my mother-in-law home). When my mother-in-law was discharged the first time, she and Martha planned to stay in touch, exchanging numbers as we left. Unfortunately, my mother-in-law and Martha didn’t get to grow their friendship as my mother-in-law deteriorated after the first hospital stay, and by the time we came back for the second, she was in her final days. We were in a different hall than before, and I wanted to ask about Martha but never did. I believe it was divine intervention that brought Martha into my mother-in-law’s room in the early morning hours of our last day there.
The IV alarm had been going off, and she happened to be nearby and decided to take care of it, even though it wasn’t her patient. We were so happy to see her and to be able to tell her that we were taking my mother-in-law home to hospice that day. When Martha asked about visiting, we jumped at the idea, knowing how much Martha meant to my mother-in-law. This was a Saturday morning, and despite the trip being well over an hour for Martha to visit outside of Red Bud, she let us know we’d see her Tuesday. My mother-in-law passed in the early morning hours that Monday. Martha was one of the first people I called. Her words were so comforting to me and my husband. We passed along funeral arrangements, and I don’t know why I was so surprised to see Martha at the visitation.
Everyone in our lives has heard about Martha. She is now considered a dear family friend. As my MIL lost more and more of who she was in those terrible last weeks, Martha saw her as a person, not just a patient, and treated her as such. She is an absolute treasure and a great representative of your facility.
As you can imagine, my MIL was not herself in those days, not the most personable, though still sweet and polite. There was something about Martha that my mother-in-law just loved. When Martha would come in the room, My mother-in-law would give a smile, something we didn’t see often in those days. They were two peas in a pod. When Martha was on duty, I knew I could go home and not worry about whether my mother-in-law was speaking up for herself, letting the nursing staff know she was in pain.
Martha anticipated her needs; she taught us little tricks on how to help her keep her medicine down (tricks that were very helpful on the days we had my mother-in-law home). When my mother-in-law was discharged the first time, she and Martha planned to stay in touch, exchanging numbers as we left. Unfortunately, my mother-in-law and Martha didn’t get to grow their friendship as my mother-in-law deteriorated after the first hospital stay, and by the time we came back for the second, she was in her final days. We were in a different hall than before, and I wanted to ask about Martha but never did. I believe it was divine intervention that brought Martha into my mother-in-law’s room in the early morning hours of our last day there.
The IV alarm had been going off, and she happened to be nearby and decided to take care of it, even though it wasn’t her patient. We were so happy to see her and to be able to tell her that we were taking my mother-in-law home to hospice that day. When Martha asked about visiting, we jumped at the idea, knowing how much Martha meant to my mother-in-law. This was a Saturday morning, and despite the trip being well over an hour for Martha to visit outside of Red Bud, she let us know we’d see her Tuesday. My mother-in-law passed in the early morning hours that Monday. Martha was one of the first people I called. Her words were so comforting to me and my husband. We passed along funeral arrangements, and I don’t know why I was so surprised to see Martha at the visitation.
Everyone in our lives has heard about Martha. She is now considered a dear family friend. As my MIL lost more and more of who she was in those terrible last weeks, Martha saw her as a person, not just a patient, and treated her as such. She is an absolute treasure and a great representative of your facility.