Marysa Duffy
July 2020
Marysa
Duffy
,
RN
Medical Intensive Care Unit
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston
,
MA
United States
My mom was a patient in Marysa's unit for three weeks. Prior to being a patient at MGH, she was at another hospital for almost nine weeks. It's safe to say my mom and family felt comfortable there with the nurses. When she was transferred she was fearful of the unknown and thought the nurses wouldn't be as great as the ones she had already had but we were wrong.
On maybe her third day at MGH a nurse from Tufts called me. She said, "I don't know if you've met your mom's nurse Marysa today, but she was wonderful on the phone; you are going to love her."
I got to the hospital and she was right, Marysa was amazing. My mom loved her and so did my family. She let her be as independent as possible and was a wonderful listener. A couple of days later Marysa wasn't her nurse but she gowned up stepped into the room and sat down with all of us just to chat. It felt as if we had known her longer than a week.
The day my mom was intubated she once again had Marysa's familiar face in the room even though she wasn't her nurse. After the intubation, Marysa told us the last thing she said was, "I got this." And she may not have realized it but telling us that gave us a lot of comfort.
My mom's final week at MGH was on ECMO. Marysa was her nurse that Thursday night I spent a couple of minutes talking with her. Throughout the last three months, I've been by my mom's side and never left it. But not many people asked me how I was doing. And Marysa had been one of the few who did that. That Thursday night I did not feel like I was talking to my mom's nurse I felt like I was talking to a friend. Thank you for making me feel comfortable and being a listening ear.
On Saturday, we ended life support. Marysa was her nurse and I will forever be grateful that she was the nurse that morning. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Not just for what you did for my mom but for what you did for me. I know you were just doing your job, but you impacted all our lives. You are a wonderful nurse you went above and beyond, and I will be forever thankful that we crossed paths even if it was with the unfortunate circumstances. As a nurse myself, I strive to make an impact on a patient's life the way you did ours. I will never forget you or your kindness thank you isn't enough.
On maybe her third day at MGH a nurse from Tufts called me. She said, "I don't know if you've met your mom's nurse Marysa today, but she was wonderful on the phone; you are going to love her."
I got to the hospital and she was right, Marysa was amazing. My mom loved her and so did my family. She let her be as independent as possible and was a wonderful listener. A couple of days later Marysa wasn't her nurse but she gowned up stepped into the room and sat down with all of us just to chat. It felt as if we had known her longer than a week.
The day my mom was intubated she once again had Marysa's familiar face in the room even though she wasn't her nurse. After the intubation, Marysa told us the last thing she said was, "I got this." And she may not have realized it but telling us that gave us a lot of comfort.
My mom's final week at MGH was on ECMO. Marysa was her nurse that Thursday night I spent a couple of minutes talking with her. Throughout the last three months, I've been by my mom's side and never left it. But not many people asked me how I was doing. And Marysa had been one of the few who did that. That Thursday night I did not feel like I was talking to my mom's nurse I felt like I was talking to a friend. Thank you for making me feel comfortable and being a listening ear.
On Saturday, we ended life support. Marysa was her nurse and I will forever be grateful that she was the nurse that morning. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Not just for what you did for my mom but for what you did for me. I know you were just doing your job, but you impacted all our lives. You are a wonderful nurse you went above and beyond, and I will be forever thankful that we crossed paths even if it was with the unfortunate circumstances. As a nurse myself, I strive to make an impact on a patient's life the way you did ours. I will never forget you or your kindness thank you isn't enough.