Desiree S Demby
August 2024
Desiree S
Demby
,
RN
Medical ICU
St Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center
Phoenix
,
AZ
United States
Thankfully, Desiree knew there was a story. This boy was somebody’s baby. His family should be with him. She saw him as a person of value, deserving of dignity and compassion.
I want to thank the ICU nurse, Desiree Shantee Demby, who went above and beyond by identifying our son through social media posters and our private investigator. Because of her, we were able to be with our son as he passed. A huge thank you to the entire staff who provided care, including the nurses who were with us as we said our goodbyes. These nurses are angels on Earth.
Desiree came into her second night of providing care for her “John Doe,” surprised there was still no family present. My son was “John Doe, DNR.” It devastates me to think of him lying there for 33 hours, intubated, unresponsive, unidentified and without family. Two separate police departments could not identify him through pictures or fingerprints, even though a Silver Alert had been issued and his picture had been shared thousands of times through social media. Our son suffered from mental illness and Substance Use Disorder (SUD) for years.
Thankfully, Desiree knew there was a story. This boy was somebody’s baby. His family should be with him. She saw him as human, saw past his substance use, his dirty, abused body, and his dreads matted with grass. She saw him as a person of value, deserving of dignity and compassion.
No one could assist in identifying the “John Doe” since it was a weekend. This nurse took it upon herself to do an internet dive into “missing black boys.” Given parameters, our son’s picture was the second to appear on NCMEC, but she was unsure until she saw the same picture on our private investigator’s poster, revealing two small moles on his neck, a picture my husband had taken of us happy at dinner the week prior to his disappearance.
Sadly, we are planning our son’s funeral, our second son we have lost in 16 months. But I want to thank Desiree and the team at St. Joseph’s Hospital and anyone who provided care and compassion for our son and our family. Thank you to all who helped find our son, our private investigator, our family advocate, and the Arizona Missing Child Taskforce. It surely takes a village. We appreciate you all and will never forget what you did for our family.
Desiree came into her second night of providing care for her “John Doe,” surprised there was still no family present. My son was “John Doe, DNR.” It devastates me to think of him lying there for 33 hours, intubated, unresponsive, unidentified and without family. Two separate police departments could not identify him through pictures or fingerprints, even though a Silver Alert had been issued and his picture had been shared thousands of times through social media. Our son suffered from mental illness and Substance Use Disorder (SUD) for years.
Thankfully, Desiree knew there was a story. This boy was somebody’s baby. His family should be with him. She saw him as human, saw past his substance use, his dirty, abused body, and his dreads matted with grass. She saw him as a person of value, deserving of dignity and compassion.
No one could assist in identifying the “John Doe” since it was a weekend. This nurse took it upon herself to do an internet dive into “missing black boys.” Given parameters, our son’s picture was the second to appear on NCMEC, but she was unsure until she saw the same picture on our private investigator’s poster, revealing two small moles on his neck, a picture my husband had taken of us happy at dinner the week prior to his disappearance.
Sadly, we are planning our son’s funeral, our second son we have lost in 16 months. But I want to thank Desiree and the team at St. Joseph’s Hospital and anyone who provided care and compassion for our son and our family. Thank you to all who helped find our son, our private investigator, our family advocate, and the Arizona Missing Child Taskforce. It surely takes a village. We appreciate you all and will never forget what you did for our family.