Recently, Jeanne Hartmann and I went to get a cup of coffee from the North café after our tier 2 huddle. At the coffee cache I was making my cup and looked behind me for Jeanne (we always take turns buying the coffee). Near the cups, there was Jeanne, tightly hugging an older lady who was shaking and crying. As the tears streamed down the woman’s face and through her sobs, she told her story about being here from out of town, to be with her daughter who was intubated and sedated in the ICU. Her daughter was gravely ill, and she feared she was not going to make it.  Jeanne held on. She said they had called her at 5:30 am to get here because her daughter was getting worse. This woman was just falling apart- and Jeanne just kept holding her as she cried and grieved. The woman shared that her other children were estranged from her and they wouldn’t answer her calls. Her daughter and 6-year-old grandson that she hadn’t seen in awhile and another 2-year-old grandbaby, she had never met. She voiced that her daughter was the “only one she had left,” and now she was fairly certain her daughter was going to die. And that she didn’t know what she was going to do. The woman’s grief was palpable, and at this point, I, too, was rubbing her back, as Jeanne continued to embrace her. Jeanne offered comforting words about her daughter knowing she was there and how important it was to keep talking to her, offer favorite music and maybe even turning on videos of her son if she had them. The woman said she felt her daughter wasn’t there but Jeanne told her to keep reaching out to her, keep talking to her, even if it seemed that way. 

After a few silent moments, Jeanne let go and helped the woman get some hot water for her tea. We gathered again after to getting our coffee and tea and Jeanne began asking the woman her name, where her daughter was and what her daughter’s name was. As Jeanne asked questions, she texted our holistic nurse friend and leader, and Spiritual Services to send help to this woman and her daughter in the ICU. The woman was so thankful and said she was grateful to have met up with Jeanne, that she felt so alone, and how grateful she was that Jeanne took the time to spend with her. The woman reached out for another one of Jeanne’s great hugs and invited me in to hug her, too. She thanked us for being there and for taking the time to listen to and help her. We walked her to the elevator and gave her directions to Atwaters since it may have been easier to get to from the ICU in the future. We wished her well, and she left in better shape than Jeanne had found her. 

I was so completely inspired and proud of witnessing this compassionate outpouring by my friend and colleague. I always knew she was a fantastic nurse who bonded quickly with her patients, gave stellar bedside care, and was a great teacher. In the years I have worked with her as a leader, I have watched her take the role of caregiver to a different place; our people feel the warmth that radiates from her and are drawn to it. Jeanne has this gift of brilliant sensitivity, genuineness, and an innate ability to read people- especially when they are not having the best day. This woman found Jeanne, and Jeanne found her; I do believe they were placed in that space at that time, for exactly the right reason. Karma, on a good day. This is just one example of her making a difference, one person at a time.