Jen was the hospice nurse for my husband, who died of pancreatic cancer. We had only met Jen a week prior because he only accepted hospice on our 35th anniversary. T died in my arms as he went to sit up to be adjusted in bed. It was just the 2 of us. As you know, with cancer patients who have internal bleeding (he had been for weeks, gradually got worse), it is not a pleasant experience - horrible. I immediately called Jen, and she came quickly. She took over right away by tenderly caring for him and, at the same time, keeping an eye on my state.

Once she took care of what was necessary, we sat in the bedroom with T after she called the funeral home. She stayed with me until my siblings arrived and made sure I was OK, letting me talk or sit quietly. She was what I call 'sitting in the mud' with me, following my cues/needs. She was extremely kind and reassuring that I had done all I could. She listened to more of the events of the weekend about his parents and family who came over that weekend, things that so hurt him and me prior to his passing. She had heard some other stories of the past about the in-laws when we first met her, which added to her idea of what they are like. Yes, they love their son 2,000%, and yet, the things they did were selfish and not helpful to T over the past 2 years. And they never seemed to notice it or listen to us to see that this journey was about T, not them and their egos.

Jen and I spoke about T and later asked that I let her know when the obit was online. I informed Hospice, who let her know. Jen took time to call me after seeing the Memorial page and chatted/listened for quite some time. Jen was an angel for T and me that day and always will be. She went above and beyond, in my opinion, and truly put T and me at the forefront of that day, even on the day she came to see us for the first time. She has her full attention, compassion, respect, and care for her patients and the families involved. That is a rare gift and needs to be commended.