I am a critical care flight paramedic for Vanderbilt Lifeflight in Nashville and have spent the last week on D4 with my mother. She was diagnosed with cancer that had metastasized to her bones and we were having a difficult time getting her pain managed to a point of being able to bring her home to be with family.

Dr. F, along with Ahmed, did an amazing job with taking the time to have collaborative discussions regarding the goals and plan of care to get my mother to a place where we could take her home to be at peace and with family. As a fellow healthcare worker, I understand the burdens and stresses placed on frontline staff and how difficult it can be to take the extra time to just listen when you’re being pulled in all directions at once.

Ahmed went above and beyond, spending the extra time to listen compassionately to my mom, providing her with extra comfort and peace in this final bit of time that she has. I’ll close with sharing some words that made an impact on me, and reframed patient and family interactions in my current practice. “People likely won’t remember what medicine you gave them or what procedure you did. What they will remember is how you made them feel”.

Thank you, Ahmed, Dr. F, and the rest of the D4 team, who helped to care for my mother and make the most of her final days in this world.