We met this nurse when my daughter was admitted to the hospital for end of life care. Initially, we were admitted to neuro oncology. We had spent a lot of our inpatient stays during our time at St. Jude on this floor. We knew the nursing staff and, more importantly, they knew my daughter. Shortly after my daughter was admitted we were asked if we would prefer a palliative care room. The only palliative care room was available on the 3rd floor. I personally was hesitant. I wasn't concerned about the level of care because we've always had excellence care. I didn't know what was ahead of us and I was scared. I wanted my daughter surrounded by people she had a connection with. People who knew her.
My daughter wasn't a difficult patient. She was actually the opposite. She was a "go with the flow" kind of girl. She never complained or groaned when nurses came to perform a task even if they had to wake her in the middle of the night. She hardly ever asked them for anything because she didn't want to burden them. She always downplayed how she was feeling.
Chelsea was welcoming, open, and kind. My daughter slowly settled in. I was still paying close attention to everything because we had a new nursing team. Chelsea did a great job staying on top of my daughter's care. I knew my daughter. If she needed something, she wouldn't ask for it and if she was uncomfortable in any way, she wasn't going to tell the nurse. She would tell me. Chelsea quickly picked up on this. She quickly learned what type of questions to ask. A yes/no question would always result in a no or "I'm okay" answer from my daughter even if she wasn't. As I listened to the questions this nurse was asking, I knew that I could trust her to care for my daughter.
She listened to my daughter and validated how she felt. She never dismissed or downplayed anything my daughter said. As a parent, trust in your medical team is so important. My daughter is everything. I needed people to care for her who understood how precious she was.
My daughter had a lot of pain in the last few months of her life. She had a high pain tolerance as well. My daughter was on a lot of opioids to help keep her comfortable. Over time, the medication dosages would need to be increased or a change in medication was needed. On days when my daughter's pain was not responding to medication, Chelsea would advocate for her. She knew that if my daughter was complaining about pain or nausea then her pain was significant. She would reach out to her doctors for a solution.
She was our primary nurse for the month and a half we were inpatient. She cared for my daughter with love and compassion every day. I would imagine it had to be extremely difficult to care for our family in our situation not because we were difficult but because my daughter was dying. She always came into the room with joy. I don't know how she did it. Her strength was inspiring. She brought us joy in the hardest moments of our lives.
In the last few weeks leading up to her death, my daughter was overheard telling a friend "she had everything she needed". I know she was referring to her family and friends which included Chelsea.