A patient came in the ED at Memorial with what seemed like a ‘fixable’ problem. He was an otherwise healthy 70-something year old male; a father, grandfather, husband. In fact, this patient said he had been going to the gym 2 days a week to exercise, riding the local bus to get there. The patient’s daughter was with him in the Emergency Department.

The patient is admitted to the floor and his course of events turned out to be rocky with transfers from the floor, to CCU, to the floor, to Surgery, to MICU and finally to 4 East and then Hospice there. It happened that this patient would not recover after surgery due to the extent of his problem. The patient received excellent care in all these areas and we at Memorial did our best with his medical treatment.

The patient was assigned to Nick Carrell the night he was to be transferred to 4 East and subsequent Hospice care. The patient passed away a short time after being transferred from MICU.

This patient lived with his daughter and she had an emotional roller coaster ride the month that her Dad was in Memorial. Funeral plans had not been made, as this patient was expected to recover – that is up until his post-operative diagnosis. Making funeral arrangements was not easy for his family.

After the patient’s body was released to the funeral home, the patient’s daughter said with tears and emotions running the gamut of stress, sorrow, grief, sleeplessness – “I should not leave Memorial Hospital until I can see Nick in MICU and give him a hug for all he has done.” Seeing Nick was foremost on her mind and her healing would not begin until she accomplished her mission – to see Nick. She explained to me that while her Dad was in MICU, Nick took the time to answer all her questions, explain what was happening and focus on her – he made her feel like she was most important to him at that time, even though others were trying to get his attention or tell him something. He kept his eyes and attention on her. According to this heartbroken daughter, Nick’s compassion radiated through his expression, body language and voice. He made a lasting impression on her and this family. She said it was Nick, through his thoughtful and empathetic actions, who made it so they could peacefully go to 4 East and Hospice and accept the soon eventual death of her father. This daughter just experienced her father’s death and what she wanted was to see Nick. What a deep impression he must have made with her.

Nick was working the night of this patient’s death. I found the patient’s daughter in the hallway and escorted her to MICU to see him. He saw us in MICU and he made eye contact with her and once again he gave her a hug and listened, just as he had done earlier when the patient was in his care. When she was done talking to and thanking Nick, she said, “OK, now I am ready to leave.”

Think about Jesus caring and hugging the broken and downtrodden; that is what Nick did for this daughter and family. Nick is a blessing to this family and to Memorial, where he has a true ministry. Thank you Nick.