Helza was at the patient's bedside for 2 hours holding his hand. The patient was hypoxic and experiencing the "end is near" and wanted his wife and sister at his side. We informed the patient his wife could not make it to the hospital and that the sister was on her way. The patient was very anxious and requested for Helza not to leave his side as he felt he was going to "die". Helza rubbed his back and arms per his request, stating his wife does that for him and Helza insisted that she would not leave his side until his sister arrived. Eventually, his sister arrived and his code status changed to comfort measure. He received pain medication to alleviate his pain, anxiety, and ease his respiratory status. Once the patient was finally comfortable, the patient stated he was very thankful for Helza for staying with him since all he wanted was for the two most important women in his life to by his side. However, at least he had a very nice nurse comforting him as he anxiously awaited for a family member to be at his side.
As the primary nurse, I was grateful for this extraordinary professional as I have never been in a situation where I had to watch my patient deteriorate so fast.