Sometimes you meet the most caring, giving, special people in the most unexpected places. Take a hospital for example, and you are facing unexpected circumstances. I was at the hospital with my dad as he was finishing his fight here on earth and going to reach his final reward.
We were so blessed to be sent to the 4th-floor at Decatur Morgan Hospital from the ER. He had such special care from all of the nurses, techs, and the staff there. It was not an easy week by any means to see my dad go from someone who was always on the move, independently doing his own thing to a weak frail man who needed help from me and others. The nurses called him "Little Man". Dad was only about 90 pounds but found the heart of everyone who took care of him and some that didn't. There were days, Tuesday and Wednesday when I thought Dad was going to be ok, but Thursday was a different story. Thursday was a very hard day, the realization comes face to face with you sometimes. The nurses were there to help me understand what exactly was going on. His body was getting tired and with Pneumonia and he was no longer able to fight it well. Dad had orders for a swallow test Thursday. He had some issues during the first test, so they wanted to do a second test. We were waiting for results from the swallow test since about 3:30 pm from the doctor. The nurses were all wonderful and shared the information they could but also needed the doctor to explain more about what was happening now and what the next steps were. I was told the doctor usually made his rounds around 7:00 pm. Dad was still NPO since midnight Wednesday and time was ticking later and later. The only thing he could have was lemon flavored swabs. One of the nurses, Ryan, must have seen and somehow felt the frustration I was having. She told me at 9:00 pm she would find out if the doctor was on call and if not she would make sure I heard something from him. At 9:35 pm I was talking to the doctor on the phone. He told me my dad had aspirated on the swallow test both times. Basically, my dad could not swallow! A brick wall slammed in my face! We discussed the possibility of a feeding tube. The doctor said he would try to get the pneumonia under control and discuss this option further. I remember hanging up the phone, walking to the hallway across from Dad's room and the realization hit, my dad can no longer eat! I started crying, ugly crying then I felt arms come around me and hug me. I remember just clinging on to the nurse who was holding me and letting me cry on her shoulder. Ryan was the nurse who was there and offered the shoulder to cry on. She then took me into the office and I continued to cry and explain how devasted I was to the news. Ryan let me sit in her chair and she sat on a stool and listened to me rattle on because I don't remember what all I told her. She listened and took time for me to cry and rattle on like I was all she had to worry about at that moment. When she found out I had been at the hospital since earlier in the day she wanted to know what time then when she found out I had not eaten she said that she was ordering a pizza and I was going to share it with her. I needed to eat.
She told me later on that she was off through the weekend and had nurses set up to make sure my dad and I would be taken care of. If I needed her for any reason to have one of the nurses to call her. I sure didn't want to bother her on her off days. Friday at 5:30 am they did labs on Dad and by 7:00 am it was explained things had already progressed so fast with Dad's body tiring out that the feeding tube was no longer an option. He was in the very final stages of life here and comfortability was the decision to make. Keep Dad comfortable. it was another hard step to decide but I had what I now call "My angels here on earth" to help. Everyone was so helpful to make decisions and bring comfort to me. Saturday I had family and friends to come and go. Someone had mentioned Ryan had asked about "Little Man". I said to tell her if she wanted to come and check on Dad for herself, I wouldn't mind. My memory is not clear exactly what I said, but the next thing I see is Ryan standing in the room! When I got my hug and asked what she was doing here on her day off she said, "someone was asking me to come!" She offered to sit with Dad and talk to him while I walked my husband to the parking deck. When I came back she was sitting by the bed with Dad. She stayed and I cannot express how much I appreciated her for coming at that point in my life. Some people think they do nothing and it means the world to someone. All of the nurses and staff have touched my heart and I am forever grateful for everything they have done for me and my dad. I would try to watch Dad but the nurses insisted on me to sleep so one nurse came in and her charting in the dark room in front of the computer so I would feel comfortable sleeping. I told her I appreciated her babysitting me. There are so many more little things that mean the world to me when they all say, "I didn't do anything." That is love for the job and others. I am so grateful and blessed to have been taken care of by such a special group of people. They took the best care of my dad until he took his final breath and took the best care of me when I didn't even know I needed taken care of. My heart is overflowing with love for this staff.