Even in the darkest of times, there are rays of light. When our son J was admitted to ICU in critical condition two weeks ago, the ICU nurses were our rays of light. One especially bright beacon was Kristi. She worked nonstop providing excellent technical care as well as providing support and hugs for us as they intubated J. The next day was Saturday and as J's health declined, she began the complicated task of dialysis. It was the end of her 12-hour shift, but Kristi agreed to an extra 4-hour shift to make sure everything was working as needed even though she had to return the next day. I cannot explain the relief J's wife, father and I felt as J continued the continuity of care that he needed.
Kristi made referrals to palliative care to get us additional support. She was never too busy to answer questions and obtain the information that we needed. And when a patient has a nurse and a mother who are RN's, there are lots of questions! As J remained in ICU, Kristi would stop by to give us hugs and support even when he was not her assigned patient. And on the final day when we had to make the difficult decision to terminate aggressive care and let him go there was more empathy, tears, and hugs. We thank the entire nursing team.