Ashley N Knerler
December 2024
Ashley N
Knerler
,
RN
Intensive Care Unit
Community Hospital Munster IN
Munster
,
IN
United States
After Mom passed, she asked to see some photos of her when she was “still her.” It meant so much to us…we felt like she truly cared about us and Mom.
Ashley was my mom’s overnight nurse in the ICU during her final 2 days of life. Ashley showed us so much kindness and compassion during that time. My Mom did now know she had cancer until it was end stages, and passed away about 10 days after her diagnosis, so we were all in a state of shock. I can think of so many little things she did…
1. We were called in in the middle of the night, and I had probably only slept 45 minutes before being woken up. I needed to take a nap around 3am, and Ashely brought my clean, warm blankets and pillows to use.
2. She was so kind and reassuring to us when we changed Mom’s code status to DNR. She gave me the biggest hug after the call when we changed it. I don’t remember what she said to my dad, but I know she was so kind.
3. I believe it was the same night, but she brought everyone down “nice” coffee and half and half from the nurse's area since we were there all night.
4. Ashley helped us get things started to be able to bring in my parent’s dog to be able to say goodbye to mom. This meant so much to my dad.
5. Ashley knew how distressed my dad was about the situation with my mom. The morning she passed away, she went down to the ER entrance to get him when he arrived and brought him up in a wheelchair, so he didn’t have to walk. He had cut himself pretty badly shaving that morning (he wanted to look nice for mom), and Ashley was so sweet and kind to him. She knew he was feeling very upset and needed someone to love on him. She sat down with him and gently applied ointment to his cut and bandaged it for him. It was truly so sweet and kind.
6. She was so caring towards my mom during her final hours. She checked with us constantly to make sure we didn’t think Mom was in any pain and brought her pain meds whenever she needed it. She made sure we knew what was going on with Mom’s care and what to expect during her final hours. After Mom passed, she asked to see some photos of her when she was “still her.” It meant so much to us… we felt like she truly cared about us and Mom.
1. We were called in in the middle of the night, and I had probably only slept 45 minutes before being woken up. I needed to take a nap around 3am, and Ashely brought my clean, warm blankets and pillows to use.
2. She was so kind and reassuring to us when we changed Mom’s code status to DNR. She gave me the biggest hug after the call when we changed it. I don’t remember what she said to my dad, but I know she was so kind.
3. I believe it was the same night, but she brought everyone down “nice” coffee and half and half from the nurse's area since we were there all night.
4. Ashley helped us get things started to be able to bring in my parent’s dog to be able to say goodbye to mom. This meant so much to my dad.
5. Ashley knew how distressed my dad was about the situation with my mom. The morning she passed away, she went down to the ER entrance to get him when he arrived and brought him up in a wheelchair, so he didn’t have to walk. He had cut himself pretty badly shaving that morning (he wanted to look nice for mom), and Ashley was so sweet and kind to him. She knew he was feeling very upset and needed someone to love on him. She sat down with him and gently applied ointment to his cut and bandaged it for him. It was truly so sweet and kind.
6. She was so caring towards my mom during her final hours. She checked with us constantly to make sure we didn’t think Mom was in any pain and brought her pain meds whenever she needed it. She made sure we knew what was going on with Mom’s care and what to expect during her final hours. After Mom passed, she asked to see some photos of her when she was “still her.” It meant so much to us… we felt like she truly cared about us and Mom.