I would like to recognize an amazing nurse who took care of my mom while she was a patient on Telemetry back in December, 2016. Her name is Rose Vigil. It has taken this long to write because I still get emotional when I think about Mom's last days while here at St. Mary Corwin. While she received phenomenal care from everyone, Rose stands out because of the compassion she showed both Mom and me during her transition from life to death.
Being in the health field and seeing sick and dying patients every day, I was surprised at how stunned I became when Mom showed signs of dying. I had witnessed that surge before, where a patient is weak and tired then suddenly alert and talking, but I totally forgot about that when I was the daughter and not medical personnel.
She was so alert the day before, laughing at pictures of her brand new great-granddaughter. On Saturday, when I came in Mom was tired and unresponsive. She then started gurgling and I had no idea what was happening. When I went to look for help, Rose came in, checked Mom's vitals and told me, "Your Momma is going to meet Jesus today."
She continued to suction her and held her tight, which I have no idea how she could do both. She kept whispering in her ear that, "it was okay."
Rose allowed me to get my brothers on the phone to tell Mom goodbye. For what seemed like an eternity, but probably was only a few minutes, Rose was not only a nurse but an angel doing God's work. I will always be grateful that she was there not only for Mom but for myself as well.