Amanda Harvey
January 2021
Amanda
Harvey
,
BSN, RN
Critical Care
Nebraska Methodist Hospital
Omaha
,
NE
United States
Amanda would hold my brother’s hand each night as we prayed together and she placed no limits on how many questions we could ask or how much time we could spend with my brother on Zoom.
While it was tragic that my brother's last month of life was spent without his family by his side, he was not alone. The care that he received from doctors and nurses who were risking their lives to treat him and other COVID patients in the Critical Care unit was beyond extraordinary.
For several weeks while my brother was on the ventilator, his nurses would arrange Zoom meetings so we could at least see him and talk to him in hopes that he would hear us and that it would hopefully provide some comfort to him. My brother was not visibly conscious, or able to respond, but we were told it was quite possible he could hear us. For 6 straight nights, he had a nurse who was, in my book, the definition of kindness and compassion, her name is Amanda Harvey. She sought information about my brother that would help her know him better so she could treat him like family. One night my niece and I explained to Amanda that my brother was fairly obsessed with his hair and that he would not be happy with what she had done with it … and she said, "oh my gosh I’m so sorry", and the next night she had it combed so perfectly and she brushed her hand over his head and asked us if that was better. And it was. It was actually perfect.
Amanda wanted to know what kind of music my brother liked. She also knew he experienced foot pain from a previous injury and she wanted to know exactly how to wrap his feet so they wouldn’t hurt him. She would hold my brother’s hand each night as we prayed together and she placed no limits on how many questions we could ask or how much time we could spend with my brother on Zoom.
One night when we were crying because of how difficult it was to see my brother deteriorating, she was crying with us and I found that to be so beautiful and so comforting. And while Amanda was our favorite, they were all extraordinary. There really aren’t enough words to adequately describe how good they were to my brother. Our hearts were broken when we lost my brother but our spirits were enriched, inspired, and lifted up by the goodness and unselfishness we witnessed in the people that loved a stranger as if he were one of their own.
For several weeks while my brother was on the ventilator, his nurses would arrange Zoom meetings so we could at least see him and talk to him in hopes that he would hear us and that it would hopefully provide some comfort to him. My brother was not visibly conscious, or able to respond, but we were told it was quite possible he could hear us. For 6 straight nights, he had a nurse who was, in my book, the definition of kindness and compassion, her name is Amanda Harvey. She sought information about my brother that would help her know him better so she could treat him like family. One night my niece and I explained to Amanda that my brother was fairly obsessed with his hair and that he would not be happy with what she had done with it … and she said, "oh my gosh I’m so sorry", and the next night she had it combed so perfectly and she brushed her hand over his head and asked us if that was better. And it was. It was actually perfect.
Amanda wanted to know what kind of music my brother liked. She also knew he experienced foot pain from a previous injury and she wanted to know exactly how to wrap his feet so they wouldn’t hurt him. She would hold my brother’s hand each night as we prayed together and she placed no limits on how many questions we could ask or how much time we could spend with my brother on Zoom.
One night when we were crying because of how difficult it was to see my brother deteriorating, she was crying with us and I found that to be so beautiful and so comforting. And while Amanda was our favorite, they were all extraordinary. There really aren’t enough words to adequately describe how good they were to my brother. Our hearts were broken when we lost my brother but our spirits were enriched, inspired, and lifted up by the goodness and unselfishness we witnessed in the people that loved a stranger as if he were one of their own.