One day we got a call from our patient’s spouse late in the afternoon on a Friday. The spouse of our cancer patient stated that his wife was not doing well. He stated that she has not been eating or drinking and she was beginning to get dehydrated. After Dawn spoke to the patient’s Oncologist, it was agreed that we needed to give this patient hydration. We informed the patient’s husband to bring her in immediately for hydration. Upon arrival to the clinic, Dawn and I both saw that the patient was not doing well. We worked on transferring her from the wheelchair to the recliner. The patient was put on oxygen and started dry heaving. Dawn began to prepare the port access supplies while I accommodated the patient’s needs. We were cleaning her phlegm off of her, watching her O2 sat, and continuously getting new vitals. The entire time during this fast process, Dawn was talking with the patient’s spouse about her medical concerns and needs. Dawn made the husband aware that we were helping her and we were doing everything we could to make her comfortable. After hydrating the patient, Dawn spoke with the husband and told him that if he feels like she needs more hydration or if she begins to decline, he should take her to the nearest ER over the weekend.

On that following Monday, Dawn pulled me aside and told me the patient passed away on Saturday. Dawn was one of the last faces that she saw before she passed. Since the patient’s husband called late on a Friday afternoon, Dawn could have easily told them to go to the nearest ER so that she would not have to work late. However, Dawn took it upon herself to arrange a POC for this patient and accomplish what needed to be done.

This is just ONE act of selflessness that Dawn shows. Dawn is a caring, personable and kind nurse. She always makes sure her patients, and their family members, know exactly what the plan is. She goes above and beyond to make sure our patients are comfortable, even on some of their hardest days.