My friend's younger daughter was getting married, and he was looking forward to walking her down the aisle. He had been in rehab at Seal Rock recovering from a fall that caused several rib fractures. Less than 2 weeks before the wedding, he became critically ill with a massive saddle pulmonary embolism and went into cardiac arrest not once, but three times. The outlook was grim as he ended up ventilated in CTICU and then on ECMO. Fortunately, he was successfully weaned from ECMO and a few days later, from the ventilator. He was going to survive, but chances of him being able to walk her down the aisle were basically non-existent.
After being transferred to the IMC on R1, he continued to gain ground. His family made arrangements to FaceTime the wedding ceremony, and I was there to help him get it set up in his room. It was not nearly the same as being there, but the best they could do to involve him in the ceremony.
Vilena was his nurse that day, and I watched as she cared for him with that extra something that makes a wonderful bedside nurse. She coordinated his care with physical therapy and the lab so he would have uninterrupted time to watch the wedding. However, that wasn't all- with the help of her co-workers, she arranged to set up the R1 conference room with tablecloths and two lovely bouquets, so he would have a place outside his room to be with his family after the reception.
Later that day, he was wheeled down to the conference room once his wife had arrived wearing her mother-of-the-bride gown. He was anxiously awaiting his daughter and her new husband's arrival. The bride in her wedding gown and veil, and the groom in his tuxedo walked past the open door of the conference room on their way toward the nurses' station and her father's room, they had no idea that special arrangements had been made by Vilena and R1 staff.
The bride was called back to the conference room, and it was so moving to see her and her dad together. Having him sitting up and out of his room made it that much more special. The wedding photographer arrived to take pictures after my friend donned his tuxedo t-shirt complete with boutonniere! The beautiful flowers served as a background for the pictures. It was so much better than having pictures taken in an inpatient room!
Setting up the conference room with the flowers was going above and beyond and made this a much better experience for my friend and his family.
Thank you for taking those extra steps Vilena!