Kelly Denton
January 2024
Kelly
Denton
,
RN
ICU
Cookeville Regional Medical Center
Cookeville
,
TN
United States

 

 

 

Her kindness kept me steady because I knew that she was in great care. Meeting a nurse like Kelly just reminded me of why I wanted to become a nurse.
Kelly is incredibly compassionate and helpful. She helped to comfort our family during the death process as our loved one was preparing for organ donation.

***

I was training downstairs in imaging when I got a text saying that my aunt had been admitted to the ICU. I knew she was having health issues, but she had just been released a couple of days ago and I thought she was getting better. So I clocked out and went upstairs to see her. No one had prepared me to see her like she was because no one was there with her because of the snow. When I was crying alone with my aunt on a ventilator, Kelly comforted me and by taking great care of my aunt she was able to give me peace of mind. Her kindness kept me steady because I knew that she was in great care. Meeting a nurse like Kelly just reminded me of why I wanted to become a nurse. Someday I hope to be a nurse like Kelly with such compassion.

***

My husband has ended up in ICU around week two of a three-week hospital stay. He had been healthy up until this incident, which included heart failure, for an unknown reason. While in the hospital he continued to decline. He required dialysis and ICU monitoring for his low blood pressure. That is where we met our angel, Kelly Denton. Kelly went above and beyond from day one. We were nervous and scared as we didn’t know what was causing all of the issues. Kelly made sure we understood everything that was happening. She advocated for us when we didn’t fully understand everything that was happening with his kidney failure and dialysis. I rarely left the hospital, but when I did Kelly made sure I was kept in the loop with any changes. My husband and I both had birthdays during his stay in ICU. It was late in the evening when she found out it was my birthday. She gave me the biggest birthday hug and promptly ran to find me some cake. She was not working on my husband’s birthday, but she made sure the nurse on shift knew it was his birthday and insisted that they bring him cake, and they did. Kelly went above and beyond to not only care for my husband in this very scary time, but she made us feel at home. She took care of him as well as me. We will forever remember and be grateful for our angel, nurse Kelly.