Darline Brown
March 2026
Darline
Brown
,
BSN, RN
MSICU
St. Joseph's Hospital
Syracuse
,
NY
United States
To watch her work through that chaos to meet my dad at his point of need was an amazing thing of beauty.
Our dad was faced with the difficult decision to refuse intubation while he was a patient in the ICU at St. Joe's. While we all knew that these were Dad's wishes, that Saturday morning would become the day we all would remember for the rest of our lives!
Dad's nurse was Darline, and Darline was to become an integral part of our family's journey that Saturday! She was an angel, sent to Dad and our family to assist all of us through that difficult day.
The day started with the kind of chaos our family brings whenever we all show up somewhere. Despite the 2-visitor limit, she made a way for my family of 6, my sister's family of 8, both my brothers, my mother, and 3 of my dad’s siblings to have some meaningful time to say goodbye to Dad. To watch her work through that chaos to meet my dad at his point of need was an amazing thing of beauty.
She kept Dad comfortable, clean, and in good spirits as he travelled down his path through those last hours. She served with compassion and a kindness that is not often seen. She was gentle, humorous when appropriate, and attentive to Dad and Mom all day long.
When Dad got closer to the end, she found a way to get the room to quiet down so she could prepare Dad for the end. She made my mother feel like an important part of Dad's care team, and she allowed all of us to experience the "feels" and emotions of that day.
At one point, she came in and made sure Dad had moisture in his mouth, made sure he did not have dry lips, and even remembered that Dad hated having his feet covered with the blankets on the hospital bed. She made Dad feel like he was her only patient that day! That made us feel like Dad was still important, even though we all knew he would be leaving us soon.
She faithfully checked in all day long and even made sure our hoard of family had food and beverages while we stood at Dad's side. As the last few hours passed, she made sure we all understood what was happening as they changed Dad's breathing equipment from the high-powered, noisy machine that Dad hated to the smaller oxygen nose tubes, which would actually allow Dad to be in control of what was happening.
After fighting as hard as he did, it was comforting to know that Dad made the decisions he wanted to make. She explained how the pain meds would work and was patient with Dad, as he wanted to wait to take the pain meds until he had the chance to say goodbye to all his grandkids, his kids, and my mom.
We all got to talk to Dad that morning, and that has given us all a sense of peace we cannot explain in earthly terms. She allowed all these feelings to happen! She was a conductor that day, conducting all of us through the last few hours and minutes of Dad's life.
Dad stopped breathing around 2:45, and his heart finally stopped around 3 pm. It really was a beautiful passing! My Mom, my siblings and our spouses were able to send Dad off with songs and prayers as he entered eternity.
She came in shortly after, quietly turned off the noisy machines, and encouraged us to take as much time as we needed to say goodbye. We never felt rushed, and honestly, I do not remember how many hours we sat and cried, laughed, and began working through the grieving process.
I remember feeling like I could never leave, because if we did leave, it would become a reality that Dad had passed. Again, she was there to reassure us.
As I look back on that difficult, life-changing day, I will always believe and say that she was a crucial part of our family's story, and she will forever remain in our hearts and prayers.
My family believes that she is most deserving of The DAISY Award, and more importantly, we want to be able to say "Thank You" for the care and comfort she gave to all of us on that Saturday.
Dad's nurse was Darline, and Darline was to become an integral part of our family's journey that Saturday! She was an angel, sent to Dad and our family to assist all of us through that difficult day.
The day started with the kind of chaos our family brings whenever we all show up somewhere. Despite the 2-visitor limit, she made a way for my family of 6, my sister's family of 8, both my brothers, my mother, and 3 of my dad’s siblings to have some meaningful time to say goodbye to Dad. To watch her work through that chaos to meet my dad at his point of need was an amazing thing of beauty.
She kept Dad comfortable, clean, and in good spirits as he travelled down his path through those last hours. She served with compassion and a kindness that is not often seen. She was gentle, humorous when appropriate, and attentive to Dad and Mom all day long.
When Dad got closer to the end, she found a way to get the room to quiet down so she could prepare Dad for the end. She made my mother feel like an important part of Dad's care team, and she allowed all of us to experience the "feels" and emotions of that day.
At one point, she came in and made sure Dad had moisture in his mouth, made sure he did not have dry lips, and even remembered that Dad hated having his feet covered with the blankets on the hospital bed. She made Dad feel like he was her only patient that day! That made us feel like Dad was still important, even though we all knew he would be leaving us soon.
She faithfully checked in all day long and even made sure our hoard of family had food and beverages while we stood at Dad's side. As the last few hours passed, she made sure we all understood what was happening as they changed Dad's breathing equipment from the high-powered, noisy machine that Dad hated to the smaller oxygen nose tubes, which would actually allow Dad to be in control of what was happening.
After fighting as hard as he did, it was comforting to know that Dad made the decisions he wanted to make. She explained how the pain meds would work and was patient with Dad, as he wanted to wait to take the pain meds until he had the chance to say goodbye to all his grandkids, his kids, and my mom.
We all got to talk to Dad that morning, and that has given us all a sense of peace we cannot explain in earthly terms. She allowed all these feelings to happen! She was a conductor that day, conducting all of us through the last few hours and minutes of Dad's life.
Dad stopped breathing around 2:45, and his heart finally stopped around 3 pm. It really was a beautiful passing! My Mom, my siblings and our spouses were able to send Dad off with songs and prayers as he entered eternity.
She came in shortly after, quietly turned off the noisy machines, and encouraged us to take as much time as we needed to say goodbye. We never felt rushed, and honestly, I do not remember how many hours we sat and cried, laughed, and began working through the grieving process.
I remember feeling like I could never leave, because if we did leave, it would become a reality that Dad had passed. Again, she was there to reassure us.
As I look back on that difficult, life-changing day, I will always believe and say that she was a crucial part of our family's story, and she will forever remain in our hearts and prayers.
My family believes that she is most deserving of The DAISY Award, and more importantly, we want to be able to say "Thank You" for the care and comfort she gave to all of us on that Saturday.