Being a nurse in the ICU, you come across all types of patients. We see patients at their sickest pull through and recover, and others not so fortunate. I frequently am the charge nurse in the ICU. I am aware of the complexities and numerous challenges of our 20 patients in a given day.
One day when I was in charge, the unit was extremely busy. Complex procedures were being performed at the bedside, RN's shifting their workloads to accommodate new and unstable patients being admitted. On this day my fellow co-worker, Cindy Kapucija, was extremely busy caring for her patients. One of Cindy's patients was a patient with a cancer diagnosis. Her patient had received treatment for cancer but had suffered from some rare complications. She had been intubated and extubated on several occasions while in the ICU.
This patient was a fighter. Three days before Cindy cared for her, she indicated to her family that she wanted everything done and wanted to keep on fighting. On the morning Cindy cared for her, the patient's respiratory status declined yet again. The patient had to be emergently intubated. The patient had also made the decision to begin plasmapheresis. So that morning a hemodialysis catheter was placed. It was after the catheter was placed, the patient wrote: "I'm done!" Cindy then titrated off the propofol drip so that she could communicate clearly with her. Her patient indicated that she no longer wanted to fight. Her patient, with her family at her side, decided she wanted to go comfortably. While her patient was still on a ventilator, she wrote that she wanted to go outside. The patient and her family realized that the ultimate plan of going home was no longer a possibility due to her very unstable health state. The patient lived on a remote ranch and loved the outdoors. The patient indicated to her family and Cindy that she wanted to see the sky one last time. This patient who had been confined to the bed for several weeks just wanted to go outside once more.
Cindy then orchestrated something so heartfelt. Once her patient was extubated, she gathered the help of co-workers to help get her patient out of bed and into a wheelchair. The patient was wheeled outside to the garden area in back of the hospital where there is a fountain and rose bushes surrounding it. The patient and her husband and two daughters sat out in this garden, savoring the view of the beautiful sky above them, one last time together. I saw her patient as she was being wheeled back inside the ICU, holding a rose with a gentle smile on her face.
Her patient was then placed back in the bed and Cindy then started a morphine drip on her. Her patient died peacefully, surrounded by the love of her family approximately 90 minutes of seeing that beautiful sky one last time.
What I witnessed that day was absolutely beautiful. Cindy is one the most compassionate nurses that I have ever had the pleasure of working with. Cindy is a fierce patient advocate. Despite being so very busy that day with her patient assignment, she fought hard for her patient. Her patient's dying wish was able to come to fruition due to Cindy's compassion, advocacy, love, and dedication. Thank you, Cindy, for the blessing that you are and for the gifts that you bestow on your patients.