My sister passed away from a lung cancer that was only first diagnosed approximately 6 weeks earlier. This cancer was very aggressive, unresponsive to any treatment, and just so fast moving, that neither she, nor any of her family and friends could get a grasp of the idea that she was so very sick, and we would lose her much sooner than ever expected. Jessica kind of became a knight in shining armor for me. She took her time, even staying late one evening, to talk with us and explain to us, what we needed to know to make a very difficult decision. She then made sure that we had a meeting with the attending hospitalist, to go over this issue with us again, and then once more she sat with my nephews (who could not be there for the earlier meeting) as they had a conference call with the oncologist to make sure that they understood what was going on with their mother and what would happen. Jessica stayed through these meetings, and made sure that all of our questions were asked and then answered so that we understood. The very next day became the day that this decision needed to be put in place.
My sister fought hard for these 6 weeks, but it was time for her to rest, she had had enough. Turns out there was a bit of a misunderstanding when the hospitalist came in to check on my sister before putting in the order for the necessary next step. The doctor then would not put in the orders. Jessica figured out why this had happened, and I felt, went to bat for us. Explained to the doctor what we were seeing, and came up with a solution so that the doctor could see it too, without putting my sister through too much more trauma.
Jessica became my hero that day. The way she stepped up to help straighten out what was a horrific situation, will always be considered, by me, an act of kindness and compassion that went above and beyond.