My niece passed away unexpectedly following a significant surgery. Our bedside vigil was extended by 3 days after her parents courageously opted to have her organs donated. Understandably, this was a devastating experience for everyone involved. Kayla felt like a constant and consistent presence in my niece's care. It was easy to see the attention to detail she maintained in her nursing duties. I am a nurse in Canada, and I am deeply aware that nursing comes with difficult emotional work and that in order to last in this career, nurses often close themselves off emotionally to preserve energy. In order to protect ourselves, we can provide excellent care without connecting too deeply. Kayla did not do this.

She went above and beyond in dozens and dozens of small ways for my family. She facilitated and helped us make handprints and other memories with my niece. She set up supplies so I would be able to wash my niece's hair with her mom. She made sure we never ran out of tissues. My brother and his wife wanted to hold my niece as part of saying goodbye. This child was intubated, had a catheter, central line, peripheral IV, and multiple other fragile monitoring devices. Moving her was no easy task, especially for a non-urgent reason. Usually, three staff members were required to safely get her from her bed into her parent's arms. Kayla made this happen at least 5 times while I was there. At least one of these times, she asked the parents if they wanted to hold her again before they had even asked. As a nurse, I know this means she was going out of her way to offer a task that would create a significant amount of work for her. She never once made it feel like it was difficult for her or like we were a bother.

On our final day, my niece's organ donation surgery was pushed back by two hours. Kayla's shift was finished before the scheduled time, but she opted to stay overtime in order to keep caring for my niece until the end. A supervisor even offered to relieve her, but she chose to stay with us. We had a Hero's Walk to bring my niece to the OR. My niece's mom wanted her to have her favorite blanket with her for this last trip, but was concerned it might get lost, and they wouldn't be able to get it back. Kayla preemptively dressed in scrubs so she could accompany her into the OR and make sure her blanket and hair clips got back to us. All of these details mattered so much to us. She was consistent in supporting us emotionally, allowing us to feel any and all emotions freely. The words she spoke to my niece demonstrated her deep care and respect for her and for my whole family.

I'm trying to find the right words to convey the emotional work Kayla did for us, and I don't know if they exist. All I can say is, I personally know how exhausting it can be to give your heart and emotions to a hurting family. It is rewarding but exhausting. It usually means you are choosing to hold this patient and these memories in your heart and mind forever, sometimes losing sleep over it. Kayla did this for us. Don't get me wrong, she was extremely professional the entire time, but she was personal and caring. Our situation was a nightmare, but my memories are softened by the care we received. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, Kayla.